Surrender
by Velace
Summary: Emma is having difficulty coming to terms with the fact the Evil Queen, who abducted her, is her True Love. Regina on the other hand, not so much.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note: **You know how I have FOUR mult-fics to write? Well, my muse doesn't give a shit.

**Warning: **By _**Romance,** _I mean **_Gratuitous _****_Porn._**

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

* * *

As Regina walked the halls, her spine straightened with each step, chin rising and eyes hardening the further she went. She was so tired, so broken and the fight had almost left her entirely. She didn't want this anymore, this constant pain of loneliness and despair, always searching for something. Something more, something that had nothing to do with power and everything to do with simply being..

_ Happy._

But as the Evil Queen, there were expectations to be upheld, a mask to put in place to hide the true nature of her heart and soul. It was exhausting, much more so now than ever as she had finally found the one thing she so desired above all else; someone to love, someone to love her in return.

It was fate, the long-awaited promise of a love like no other who could, who would, move mountains for her. Except. She was so _spirited_, uncouth and full of rebellion. Infuriating and oh so.. challenging.

Oh she knew she could have gone about this whole thing differently. Abduction had simply been the easiest and least time-consuming of her options but the woman was destined to be her True Love, surely she would forgive her eventually.

Regina sighed as she completed her transformation and turned the corner that led to the woman who had consumed her mind, claimed her heart and the very breath from her lungs the moment she had laid eyes upon her. Luxurious blonde curls that framed perfectly chiseled features, emerald pools so full of mischief and that smile, hesitant and shy one moment, to coy and flirtatious the next.

A moment of rage overcame her, halting her progress to her love as she remembered the day she had first seen her, joking and laughing with that grotesque pirate who thought he was such a charmer. The disgusting filth was a waste of air, the only reason he wasn't dead was because she had the occasional need of him and his connection to that nauseating land filled to the brim with diseased teenage children.

She shook the venom from her mind with a growl and continued on with her walk, toward the line of men that stood at attention like obedient little puppets, guarding her blonde Princess behind the closed-door at the end of the hall.

"Is she awake?" Regina asked, too impatient to await an answer until she had reached the room.

"Yes, my Queen." There was a hint of amusement in her Captain's voice that set her teeth on edge and her fingers flexed, her physical tell when she was exerting the effort to resist lashing out and choking the life from someone.

It was something her Guards had learned to spot in the very first years of her reign and the Captain lowered his head, an acknowledgment of his toeing the line, submission that used to send a thrill through her veins but had long since lost its effect.

She accepted, nonetheless. It didn't do to kill those who were useful and he had proven that he was, time and time again.

The Guard's separated, lining the walls to make way for her before forming up again behind her as she slipped through the door, the thump, thump, thump of their weapons upon the stone floors announcing her arrival so that she didn't have to.

Taking in the state of the room, it was apparent why Graham had sounded as though he wanted to laugh. Had Regina not known better, she would have assumed a tornado had spontaneously appeared; conjured by someone who had a vendetta against her furniture.

Glass lay shattered upon the floor, a brief glance a little to the left and with the tilt of her head, she could see that it was from the bureau she had stocked with clothing and provided for the blonde. She sighed and waved her hand, repairing the damage as she took in the rest of the room; a toppled bookcase, linens shredded as if mauled by claws.

If this woman wasn't her happy ending, she would certainly be her cause of death.

"Come to set me free?"

Gaze like ice, Regina turned her head to the voice and scowled. "Free you? I should destroy you for this."

The blonde's eyes flashed defiantly and she pushed away from the wall she had been leaning against, stalking toward the Queen with a snarl on her lips that sent heat straight to the brunette's core. "Go ahead. Better death than another second alone with you."

Again, her fingers flexed but this time, they curled around a delicate throat, blood-red nails biting into pale flesh as Regina drew the woman forward until only a mere inch lay between them. "Why do you continue to fight me? I can tell that you want me. Even now as you struggle to breathe, you only want to rip away this dress and fuck me."

Their lips brushed as Regina leaned in, fixated with the way that emerald slowly darkened and she could feel every swallow against the palm of her hand. "I wish I could be inside your mind." she breathed. "To see the thoughts that are making you wetter with each second that ticks by."

She placed her free hand on the blonde's stomach and smirked as the muscles twitched beneath her touch. "Are you picturing my fingers buried within your tight little cunt?" She moved the hand to hover above the woman's sex, chest rumbling with a moan as heat radiated from between thighs.

Foreheads touched as Regina closed her eyes, struggling to control impulses that screamed at her to put them both out of this awful, torturous misery. "All you have to do is surrender." she whispered. "Tell me you want me, tell me to fuck you, right now and I will relinquish my control to you, submit to you as we act out every sordid little fantasy in that perverted mind of yours."

"Go f..uck yours-." Regina growled, tightening the hold and cutting off the rest of her sentence before her eyes snapped open and she released the woman with a shake of her head, turning on her heel and leaving the blonde once more.

* * *

Emma collapsed to her knees as the blood rushed to her head, drawing as much air into lungs as humanly possible before she screamed her frustration until her throat burned and a throb developed behind her eyes. She felt violated but it was that she enjoyed the feeling which made her angry.

With each passing day, it became even harder to resist the evil temptress and she had been so close to giving in.

The woman plagued her dreams at night and taunted her throughout the day, her body was in a constant state of arousal and even taking care of herself did nothing to relieve her of the constant burn between her legs, the aching that woman created with the rhythmic sound of thumping that preceded her every entrance, the words that drip from plump lips like honey and the sinful body, dressed to perfection just begging to be fucked.

Gods did she want to surrender.

She sighed, hanging her head for a moment of shame before she rose from the floor, throwing a look of longing toward the cabinet with clothes in it and heaving another sigh as she stumbled over to the bathing area. If she could regain a little more control of her body and decrease the damnable sensitivity, maybe she could finally wear something without being turned on by the fabrics brushing against her flesh like a phantom lover.

Fat chance, she thought. For the past week she has had the option but no matter how many cold baths she took, or how often she got herself off, her body continued to buzz and if she somehow managed to provide any relief to herself at all, it was so brief that it might as well have been imagined.

Which, she supposed, could be a possibility if the situation were causing her to slip in to some deluded fantasy where everything she heard, saw and touched were illusions, figments created by her imagination to enforce the insanity. Perhaps she was still down in the dungeon, passed out on an uncomfortable bedding of straw while the rancid smell of the other prisoners were responsible for keeping her unconscious with their fumes.

Princess, runaway, outlaw, slave and now the comatose prisoner of the Evil Queen. Emma couldn't decide if she had moved up or down in the world as she dragged her fingers across the runes that surrounded the marble tub, watching as it filled with water and a haze of purple coloured the surface.

At least if she was dreaming or hallucinating, she could take comfort in the fact that her subconscious knew how to treat a woman and didn't declare its love for her by throwing her in a cell without clothes.

* * *

"Sidney." Regina snapped as she entered her chambers.

His face appeared in the mirror as she summoned the decanter of cider from the mantle above the fire to the table in front of her with a flick of her wrist. "Yes, my Queen?"

"What is my dear Princess up to?" She unclasped the collar at her throat and rolled her shoulders, allowing the cloak she wore to fall to the floor as she began pulling at the laces of her corset and waited for him to show her Emma.

His voice accompanied the swirl of an image forming within the glass. "She appears to be bathing while.. pleasuring herself, my Queen."

Regina half moaned, half growled at the sight of the blonde with a hand pumping steadily between her legs. While she could see nothing beneath the water, the mere thought of what Emma was doing to herself had a heat coiling low in the pit of her stomach as her eyes travelled the length of Emma's body.

She licked her lips as she took note of abdominal muscles that clenched with every thrust, ample breasts that sat above the surface, one clutched within a hand as fingers twisted and pulled at a dusky pink nipple. What she wouldn't give to be in that room.

"Emma, Emma, Emma." she tsked with a chuckle, reaching out to caress the image by running the tips of her fingers along the glass, tracing the curves of Emma's body as it writhed in pleasure. She knew well the agony the blonde was in and had it not been for the fact she was the Queen and had responsibilities, she would too hide away in her room – preferably with her deliciously naked Princess.

Sighing, she allowed the tendrils of her magic to seep into the glass and she watched as Emma slumped, reading her name slip from a pale mouth as a look of relief crossed the woman's expression. "If that worked, you'd still be down in that Tavern surrounded by filth."

"My Queen?" Sidney reappeared as Emma faded and she rolled her eyes at the curiosity evident in both his tone and expression. She should know better than to speak aloud around him, he had always been a pest who liked to put his nose where it didn't belong.

"What is it?" she sighed as she poured herself some cider, discarding her corset before she retrieved the goblet and sauntered over to the sette by the fire.

"Well.." He cleared his throat. "I'm confused by your comment."

Sinking in to the plush feather seat, Regina rested her head against the back and closed her eyes, goblet in one hand while the other lay across her bared stomach. "Get to your point before I decide to shatter every mirror in this room."

He hesitated a moment, then spoke. "It is obvious you believe she to be your True Love, my Queen. The fact that you would have left her alone, had your desire not forced you into action seems.. for lack of a better word, strange."

She cracked an eyelid to peer at his face above the mantle before she sighed and closed it once more, content that it seemed he _was _merely curious and wasn't attempting to gather information to use against her. "Had our connection not been as strong, I would never have even considered including her in my life. She may be the runaway child of my nemesis, but no one deserves the treatment that comes from being close to someone like me."

* * *

A week passed and Emma had heard nothing from the Queen. Food was still provided at least three times a day, sometimes more if she requested it from the Guard Captain. She could wear clothes now but found she lacked the desire to, especially since the brunette had decided to leave her alone and she didn't need the protection from those possessive, wandering hands.

A rage would overtake her on some days and she would destroy near everything within the room before collapsing into an exhausted sleep, only to awaken the next morning to find everything back in its place and looking as pristine as ever. She wondered about those nights more than any other and her heart always clenched within her chest, the thought that the Queen had visited while she slept _pained _her for some odd reason.

She tried not to dwell on the feeling, tried to tell herself that while the woman stayed away, her imprisonment was.. bearable, almost enjoyable. There were worst ways to spend ones life than in a room fit for royalty, it certainly beat constantly running away.

Left to her own devices, no responsibilities of a Princess yet provided with the luxury of one.

Her time as an outlaw and a slave gave her an appreciation for the finer things, things she took for granted as a spoiled little girl under the care of King James and Queen Snow who encouraged her every behaviour, nurturing a reliance on others and sacrificing her independence in the process.

Even now as a prisoner, she was grateful to her parents for that. If they hadn't attempted to arrange her marriage to that besotted fool of a Prince Baelfire, she never would have had the courage to flee from her birthright.

Never would have experienced the dreaded **Love at First Sight. **

True, she had fallen for the psychotic Evil Queen who wanted her as some sort of sex toy but at least there lay a _challenge._ Baelfire was a dim-witted twit without a thought of his own and no personality to speak of, not to mention his unnatural connection to his father that seemed to bother no one besides her.

Her thoughts turned away from the man and back to _her _as she lay upon the soft furs that adorned her bed, she closed her eyes and breathed a sigh as the Queen's image came to mind with little effort, that familiar ache resurfacing within her chest and between her legs.

She palmed her breasts as those perfect lips curled into a smirk and moaned as the fire returned to her veins, every nerve seeming to come alive at once with her surrender to the desire coursing through her. Fingers expertly teased her nipples until they hardened painfully, bringing thoughts of the brunette straddling her waist to the forefront of her mind, her wetness coating Emma's stomach as mouth and tongue worked at her breast.

One hand fell from her breast, following the path of her fantasy-Regina as lips descended her body, tongue and teeth pausing to bathe flesh with their attention. Her legs fell open and she cupped her mound, overriding the pace set by her thoughts as she pushed a finger between swollen folds and deep inside her throbbing cunt.

Back arching, she rellished the burn and pulled out to thrust back in with two. She lowered her other hand to spread her folds and play with her clit, rubbing the sensitive nub with tight, rough circles as she gasped the Queen's name over and over again.

_Thump, thump, thump._

The sound echoed endlessly in her mind and the heat building inside her surged wildly, walls constricting around the fingers that pounded her sex relentlessly. Flashes of tongues, teeth, lips overtaking her thoughts as her fantasies merged. Images of Regina's face buried between her legs, of Regina fucking her from behind, against a wall, bent over a desk, over her lap.

Leather, whips, spankings.

Emma groaned her pleasure, her body snapping taut as she rose up off the bed and came hard. She fell back down to the layers of fur that welcomed her return with soft caresses against sensitive flesh, panting while her mind swam from the blissful high, body warmed from head to toe with her release.

"Well that was quite a show, Princess." Regina drawled with a smirk, her tone far huskier than it would have been without the pleasant surprise that greeted her entry.

"Fuck! Regina!" Emma jumped up as her eyes snapped open and she scrambled to cover herself. "What the hell?"

"Oh I'm Regina now, am I?" She mused, feet taking her closer of their own accord as she teased the blonde. "Tsk, one might think you're going soft."

"What the fuck do you want?" Emma snapped.

Regina stopped moving and blinked at the sudden venom lacing the tone, blank expression sliding into place even as her heart ached. She averted her eyes from the penetrating emerald ones, feigning an interest in their surroundings as she spoke. "I felt my enchantment break and came to investigate. Now that I see it is of your own doing, I shall leave you to it."

"Wait!" Emma blurted, covering her mouth the next second as the brunette visibly tensed with her hand on the door. She waited for the spew of threats but while Regina remained, she didn't turn or speak.

"I didn't.. I mean." Emma groaned and shook her head. "What enchantment are you talking about?"

Regina's stare bored into wood as she contemplated ignoring the question, throwing open the door and leaving the blonde to suffer the consequences of what she had done. Even while knowing she wouldn't, she forced her to endure the awkward silence for a few minutes longer before she finally replied. "The one I put on your room the first time I was summoned here to clean up after one of your destructive tantrums. It dampens our connection – or rather, soothes the pain of injury; a fitting description even in our unusual case."

"You're telling me.." Emma clenched her jaw in an effort to staunch the anger rising in her. "That the only reason I'm not still suffering is because you cast a spell to prevent it? One you _could _have cast at any time during the days I spent in that disgusting dungeon of yours or the first week I was trapped in here?"

_The nerve! _

Regina ground her teeth and spun to face the blonde, stalking forward as she growled low in her throat. "Yes, that is exactly what I'm telling you."

She reached out and grabbed her by the throat, forcing her to rise to her knees and come to the edge of the bed as the fur dropped from around her. "You suffer because of your own stubbornness, I am not the cause of it, I owe you nothing and the _only _reason you have had relief this past week is because _I _showed you mercy."

Regina bared her teeth in a snarl. "The simple truth is that _we _suffer because _you _deny me. Even as your mind, your heart, your very _soul _ache for me, you have deluded yourself into believing it will simply go away if you resist long enough."

"You weren't my choice!" Emma shouted and shoved the hand away from her throat, eyes widening as fingers curled around her wrist and yanked her forward.

A hand came up between her breasts, fingers splayed and her breathing deepened as the Queen slid her palm up, ascending her throat before clasping the back of her neck and pulling their bodies together. She shuddered at the feel of leather against her heated flesh, an arm wrapping firmly around her waist.

"You weren't mine either." Regina whispered before she claimed soft lips and was surprised when they parted willingly, allowing her tongue to slip between them and taste the mouth that had featured in her mind from the very moment they met. For several minutes she revelled in it; the flavor, the texture and the sounds, oh those sweet panty flooding sounds but as she felt the hips start to grind into her and the hand that grasped at her ass, she broke away.

Before Emma had the chance to recover, Regina was back across the room and the blonde watched, transfixed as the door shimmered purple a moment, then slammed shut behind the Queen and she was left alone.

Again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note: **Did I not mention that I have 4 multi-chapter fics? I'm sure I mentioned that. Peer pressure is wrong, guys.

* * *

Another week crawled by, the nights longer than the days without the distraction of ungrateful peasants complaining that they didn't have enough silk, gold or whatever it was the nobles had rambled nonstop about for two hours while she pretended she was listening to them. If not for the rest of her subjects; farmers needing more workers for the crops, guards requesting funds for armour repair, she probably would have slaughtered all of them in her first year and been done with that particular part of the day altogether.

That would have meant more time for her to dwell on the stubborn blonde, and gods only knew she spent enough time on doing that. She suspected her attempt at remaining patient had begun to show, it was not a trait Queen's were known for, especially this one.

People started to talk in hushed whispers when she passed, the nobles, the guards, the maids. They didn't think she noticed, but she did and a part of her was afraid that if they continued, she wouldn't be able to control her actions. She needed a reason to be, to stop living as the monster that parents tell bedtime stories of.

Yes, she knew all about them as well.

Those used to amuse her, she would revel in the fear, the terror she could inflict simply by directing her gaze in their direction and she would laugh at the weakness they displayed so easily. Children would run and hide behind someone older that they deluded themselves into thinking could protect them, the adults would cower in fear and she could make a grown man flinch with the simple curl of a lip.

The whole lot of them were pathetic.

And yet still, she envied them. Even with her reigning over them and proving their every nightmare true, most of them were blessed with some happiness, a simple shred was more than she had and having the possibility of it so close was driving her quite mad.

Alas, she was well aware that a love which was forced would never be true and without true love, her happiness would remain forever out of reach.

"Majesty?"

Regina startled at the sound, an imperceptible widening of the eyes before she regained control of herself and schooled her expression into a scowl. She turned to the man who had intruded on her thoughts, her glare adequately terrifying if his paled expression were an honest one. "What?"

He shrank back in his seat and stuttered, "The Captain requests your attention, Majesty." He nodded to where Graham stood off to the side before reaching for his wine and she noted the shaking of his hand with a small smirk.

"Speak, Captain." She purred, her tone sliding into amusement as she added, "I imagine my guests would like to disappear into the woodwork sometime before Monsieur D'Arque wets himself."

Graham cleared his throat, pushing down his laugh as he too witnessed the old man's reaction to the Queen's ire. "She wishes to speak with you, my Queen and has been rather.. vocal about it."

Pleased by the information, Regina chuckled as she stood, emptying the last of her wine and placing her goblet on the table as she looked around at those that had gathered for the evening. "I trust you're all capable of seeing yourselves out, feel free to finish your drinks first."

Offering them the best of her false smiles, she beckoned Graham to follow as she sauntered from the room, only speaking when they were out of earshot. "In an hour I want you to return and make certain those perfidious cretins are out of my home."

"Yes, my Queen." He replied dutifully.

* * *

Emma almost regretted shattering the mirror again as she paced the floor barefoot, her bloodied hand hanging limply at her side.

Almost.

The pain sufficiently distracted her from the thoughts that had run rampant in her mind after another two days of solitude. By the end of the week she had succeeded in relieving her boredom and instead, rendered the enchantment on the room completely useless once more.

But that was three days ago and Regina hadn't bothered to return, which meant Emma was stuck with anger and arousal, no doubt suffering because the Queen thought she needed to be taught a lesson; hence the mirror. She glanced down at the floor and smirked at the trail of blood that told the tale of her frustrated back and forth across the room, seeping into the carpet.

It was a small victory and undeniably childish but satisfying all the same.

When she heard the familiar thumps, she stopped in the middle of the room, turning to the door where her mouth dropped open at the sight of the brunette dressed entirely in leather. Her gaze lowered as Regina turned to close the door, stomach flipping as she soaked in the view of the woman's ass encased within tight pants.

"From what I can tell, you don't need the help of my wardrobe to get off, Princess." Regina chuckled as she turned to see the blonde ogling her. The teasing was short-lived, however, when she noticed the blood and moved, grabbing the blonde's wrist and holding it up between them as she snapped. "What did you do?"

Emma hadn't heard a single word, her attention immediately captured when Regina turned, by cleavage she was certain had to be criminal and it was only when she felt a sharp pain in her injured hand, causing her to yelp and snatch it from the death grip, that she realised what she was doing.

"Was that really fucking necessary?" Emma hissed as she tried to shake off the renewed ache.

By then, Regina had pieced the clues together for an answer to her question and her eyebrow rose mockingly as she gestured around the room. "Far more necessary than all of this, I'm sure. Perhaps if you learned to control yourself, neither of these things would have occurred."

Before she could comprehend what was happening, Emma had her pinned against the wall and was whispering in her ear. "I have had the Evil Queen patiently waiting for consent to touch me, to pleasure me. I believe you even offered to let me dominate you, if only I gave you permission."

Regina groaned, her head thudding against the wall as hips slammed into her forcefully and sent a burst of heat straight to her sex. "It seems to me, your Majesty-" Emma smirked as she backed away from the brunette, the flash of irritation in the Queen's eyes not going unseen. "-that I have _plenty _of control."

This was her punishment, it had to be.

Regina thought that maybe Fate, for once, was on her side. She found her True Love after years of misery and she had the chance to be happy, it was a filthy lie; the blonde nuisance was sent as a test of her restraint. She had the thought to contact Jefferson and get this hell over with, she could learn to make bow ties to match all those hats of his.

When Emma received no response besides the eyes that seemed to stare right through her, she warily eyed the brunette as she scratched at her collarbone with blunt nails out of nervous habit. "Um, Regina?"

Unsure if it had to do with the wine she had consumed earlier in the evening or the hot/cold business with the Princess, exhaustion prickled at Regina's consciousness and she had a sudden urge to get this over and done with so she could slip into her bed and sleep.

Pursing her lips, she tilted her head. "Why did you want to see me?"

"I.." Emma sighed and sat down on her bed. "Missed you?"

There was silence for all of a minute before the laughter rang through the room and Emma's head snapped up. Even as her heart skipped at hearing the sound, she was shocked and, truth be told, embarrassed that she had confessed rather than answer with the lie she had concocted moments before she sent for the brunette.

"No, really." Regina gave a somewhat bitter chuckle. "Why?"

Emma shrugged and rubbed at the back of her neck sheepishly as their eyes met, brown widening when the blonde made no attempt to correct what Regina had assumed was a joke. "You missed me?"

"Well don't act so fucking surprised." Emma snapped, her irritation overriding her moment of weakness as her walls slammed back into place. "You've kept me locked up in this damn room for over a month and no one besides you is allowed anywhere near me. That is, of course, when you deem me worthy of your presence and don't disappear for a week without saying anything."

Regina spoke in a measured tone as she moved from the wall and sauntered closer. "You're locked up because you, Princess, are a runner. No one other than I, is allowed near you because you are _mine _and I _do not share._"

Coming to stand in front of her, Regina leaned down and placed her hands on either side of the blonde who fell back on to her elbows. "I disappeared because it was what you wanted at the time."

Emma snarled. "I am not your possession and if that is what you think of me, then you may as well kill me because I will never, ever, surrender to you if you think that means you _own _me." she sat up and got in the Queen's face. "As for what I want, you never bothered to ask before you ran from the room with your tail tucked between your legs."

Sucking in a sharp breath as her mind and body filled with unadulterated _want _for the blonde, Regina pulled at her bottom lip with teeth before she murmured, "Tell me." She closed her eyes to the smile she received, a pathetic whimper escaping her throat as Emma drew the tip of her finger across her mouth.

"I want.." Emma choked on her words as she was hit with a barrage of thoughts, accompanied by pulses of heat that caused wetness to pool between her thighs and she surged the last of the space separating them, capturing Regina's lips in a long overdue kiss that only seemed to make matters worse.

Regina moaned into the mouth that appeared as though it wanted to devour her and while she would gladly let it, she knew that Emma would stop long before she got what she wanted, so she gripped blonde curls tightly and forced them apart with a firm tug. Before Emma could recover from her shock, she spoke. "Unless you plan to lay back, spread your legs and let me fuck the very sense from you, don't do that again."

Emma swallowed, breathing heavily through her nose as she studied the Queen whose glower sent a spike of heat straight to her sex. Had the brunette not interrupted her, there was a good chance she would have allowed that very thing to happen, only to regret it later.

"Freedom."

Regina blinked, shaking her head in confusion. "What?"

Licking her lips, Emma placed a hand on the brunette's chest and pushed her away, unable to think clearly when they were so close to one another, and as the pressure in her stomach eased and Regina backed off, she cleared her throat.

"I want the freedom to leave this room." When Regina frowned, Emma continued as if having to explain something to a child. "Confinement isn't good for people, that's why it's considered a punishment... for criminals."

"You would run." Regina accused.

Emma shook her head. "I _could _run, that doesn't mean I will."

Regina scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Of course you will, it's what you _do. _As such, you can't honestly expect me to trust that you won't."

"I thought trust was a part of loving someone." Emma felt insulted by the accusation and she was on the verge of throwing another tantrum.

But Regina released a derisive snort and then laughed as Emma pouted. "When it comes to love, you trust that person the most; you trust them to hurt you. Not because they necessarily want to, but because they're the ones who can."

Seeing nothing but genuine belief in her eyes, Emma sighed and flopped down on to the bed. "You could come with me when I leave." She suggested after a minute or two.

Now sitting beside the blonde, Regina looked down at her and shook her head sadly. "Perhaps some of the time, but what if you want to while I am otherwise occupied? I'm the Queen, I can't simply drop everything to accompany you whenever you feel the need to escape."

Emma frowned as the word _escape _left her mouth, but she dismissed it as she tried to come up with a solution. "Send a guard with me?"

"I would have to trust them for that to work." Regina retorted.

"For shit sakes." Emma threw an arm across her eyes and groaned loudly, the woman was a pain in the ass. "You trust them to protect your life, yet you think they would help me runaway?"

"Yes." Regina said simply and without a second of hesitation, not bothering to explain her reasoning.

"Is there a chance that you already know of a way and are only torturing me for the sheer pleasure of it?"

With a chuckle, Regina conceded and admitted that yes, there was a way. "But I will need a few days, of which, you will remain in here until I say otherwise."

Emma shot up, almost forgetting the warning about kissing her and pulled back at the last second, her cheeks colouring and causing another laugh to slip from plump lips. She leaned forward and pecked her cheek, the laugh catching in the brunette's throat before a smile spread across her face.

When she regained her bearings, Regina stood and Emma watched as the Evil Queen took over. "Sleep, I will return when I have the solution."

She moved to the door, which shimmered purple as she replaced the enchantment before she turned back to the blonde with a grin. "Do try to resist breaking this a third time, or at the very least, ask me for help when you do." and with a wink, the Queen was gone, leaving Emma feeling more than the simple warmth of her arousal.

* * *

It had taken Regina three days to procure the item that she now held up for Emma's inspection. She knew the blonde wouldn't appreciate having to wear what was essentially a slave collar, so she had a leather bracelet fashioned that could be hidden if Emma wanted it that way. "I placed the rune on the inside so no one would know."

Emma plucked it from the palm of her hand for closer examination. Just as Regina had said, there beside the laces was a six-pointed star; the symbol for obedience and a faint purple cross through the middle. "The cross is new."

"As you are aware, the star is a locater rune." Regina retrieved the bracelet back from Emma who held out her arm and as she fastened it, she explained. "The cross is my personal mark, an attunement that guarantees no one, with the exception of myself, will be able to use this to find you and only I will be able to remove it from your wrist."

"Makes sense." Emma nodded.

"How is your hand?" Regina questioned as she ran the tips of her fingers over Emma's palm to the bandage wrapped around her knuckles.

Concern shone in brown eyes and Emma offered her a small smile before she pulled away and walked over to the bureau to find some clothes. "It's fine.. and I suppose I forgive you for not simply healing it, considering I do keep breaking your mirror."

"It is for that exact reason that I didn't." Regina admitted and for a few minutes, a silence descended as Emma dressed while the brunette watched, broken only by the sound of protest that emitted from the back of her throat at the sight of the firm, pale cheeks of Emma's backside disappearing behind the leather breeches she pulled on.

Emma had heard it and after sliding her arms through the soft cotton sleeves of her shirt, she left the buttons undone and turned to stalk towards the Queen with a grin, noting the heave of Regina's chest as her pupils dilated. Once she was within reach, she grabbed the hands that reached for her and forced them back down to her sides as she pressed their bodies together.

She pulled her head back when Regina attempted to kiss her and laughed at the growl she received. She leaned in to quickly nip the brunette's jaw before she spun her around, holding her in place by wrapping an arm around her waist. "You said the next time we kissed, you'd be fucking me, so I'm afraid we'll have to skip that part."

Slipping her hand between Regina's thighs, Emma smiled when Regina gasped and then moaned as she squeezed her pussy. She started to rub her folds through the tight pants that the brunette wore, murmuring in her ear as Regina shuddered against her. "Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to do this to you."

"Probably for as long as I've wanted you to." Regina groaned and thrust down on to the hand.

Emma acquiesced with a hum and permitted Regina to pull an arm free as she trailed her lips down the Queen's neck, slim fingers tangling within her curls and a head thrown back to rest against her shoulder as she swirled her tongue around Regina's pulse and sucked.

"Just fuck me already." Regina growled, receiving a chuckle in response that sent vibrations through her flesh, making her folds even slicker before a hand was shoved down her pants and two fingers entered her.

With the flick of a wrist, Regina's clothes vanished and she cried out as teeth sank into her shoulder. Emma began to thrust into her and she arched her back into the fingers, grunting her disapproval when the arm tightened around her waist and Emma yanked her back into her.

Basking in the warmth of Regina's cunt, Emma rubbed her breasts against the heated back and moaned at the feel of her nipples hardening as she ground her hips into Regina's ass and pounded into her, ignoring the burn in her arm in favour of increasing the sounds and swears that fell effortlessly from the Queen's lips.

Slowly, they began to move backwards until the backs of Emma's knees met resistance and she pulled out of Regina, stopping the protest on the tip of the brunette's tongue by spinning them and shoving her down on the bed.

"What-" Regina began, only for her mouth to snap shut as Emma parted her thighs and dropped to her knees. Just the sight of the blonde in that position caused the familiar flames of desire to reignite and threaten to consume her as they coursed through her veins. She decided then and there that Emma on her knees was definitely her favourite view.

Hands immediately reached to tangle back within her curls and Emma leaned forward, inhaling the heady aroma of the Queen's arousal. A guttural moan escaped pale lips, joined by Regina's own as Emma stroked her tongue between folds and lapped at the juices already gathered.

Her eyes slammed shut and she brought her fingers back to Regina's entrance, thrusting into her without warning as she clamped her mouth around the bundle of nerves. Hips rose to meet her every stroke, nails digging into her scalp as her name began to fall from perfect lips and she focused on bringing the Queen to that ultimate high.

Regina whimpered as teeth grazed her sensitive nub, fingers deepened, quickened with every thrust, filling and stretching her as Emma added a third and all the desire seemed to rush through to her stomach, coiling within as her walls constricted.

Emma couldn't get enough, fantasy would never again compare to the taste, the feel of Regina squirming beneath her mouth. Her mind fogged from the sheer pleasure of it, the woman was intoxicating, most definitively without equal.

Emma's thumb replaced her lips as a tongue replaced fingers. The sudden emptiness enraged Regina for a brief moment, yet when the wet muscle slithered inside, the heat intensified and stars exploded behind her eyelids as they fell shut and she came with a sharp cry.

As she recovered, there was a shift in the air and even with her eyes closed, Regina knew that Emma had stood and moved beyond her reach. "Where are you going?" She asked, her voice laced with blissful exhaustion.

"Hadn't decided yet." Emma feigned ignorance to the true meaning of the question and buttoned her shirt as she continued. "How far could I go before you started to think I was running?"

Eyes finally fluttered open and Regina looked up at her, studying her as she tried to figure out which of the many things she was feeling she wanted to unleash the most; anger because she felt used, resignation because she understood, indifference because she was damned tired and not in the mood for an argument or the blonde's theatrics.

In the end, she settled for the latter and breathed a sigh as she closed her eyes again. "The forest."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Note: **_insert loud sigh._

* * *

For a month the same thing kept happening.

Emma would disappear from the castle for the entire day, she wouldn't tell anyone where she was going and Regina never once asked, she wanted to prove that she was capable of trusting someone without giving in to the inner voice that gnawed at her like a dog with a bone.

Daily, she found herself repeating the same mantra until it drowned everything else out.

_She will come back. She won't leave you. _

It was a difficult thing; resisting even the consideration for having someone follow the blonde. Even as that voice prodded her constantly, she refused to surrender control, to act like a possessive lover even though that was exactly who she was. Often, she found herself wondering if her Princess was warming the sheets of someone else's bed and while it sent her into a mindless rage in the moment, by the time Emma returned, it was over.

She had kept the blonde company only once.

And on that day she discovered that Emma loved horses almost as much as she did and they rode for miles, stopping only when the blonde demanded sustenance; in more ways than one. Regina had never screamed louder than she did then, writhing in the grass while Emma did as she does best and fucked the Queen until she was nothing more than an incoherent, sweat drenched mess.

On their return, she silently vowed that for as long as Emma still refused her touch, she would never again go with her during her outings and would instead find ways to fill up her entire day so she would have an excuse when Emma asked for her company.

Even after she had turned down at least twenty requests, Emma still arrived at her chamber each morning and Regina continued to turn her away. On some days, the blonde appeared to be relieved but on others, the Queen couldn't help feeling a little bit guilty when the bright smile faltered and emerald eyes dulled in their excitement before her Princess turned and left her alone.

But on this night Regina stared up at the ceiling as her body lay within the middle of her bed; naked, boneless and exhausted after four hours of rough, animalistic sex in which Emma forced her to endure orgasm after orgasm until she blacked out from the sheer magnitude of pleasure. Sounds had spilled from her mouth that she wasn't even aware she was capable of making as lips, teeth and tongue traced the curves of her body, discovering and manipulating each and every spot that turned her into a quivering shell of a woman.

As it turns out, while she can discourage a hopeful Princess with a fair amount of ease, an angry one who has grown tired of being denied is another story entirely.

She wanted to be upset at not being able to touch the woman she loved, to hear her name fall reverently from those skillful lips; as Emma does hers. Her very being ached to pleasure her, to feel the tight walls of her lover contract around her as she coaxed every release and bathed the woman with her hungry mouth.

And yet, she didn't have the energy nor, did she think, the will to resist should it happen again.

* * *

Emma approached the Queen's chambers the next morning, intent on showing the brunette that even after last night, she still wanted her company but as she neared, she noticed the guard stationed outside the door and faltered in her stride, a frown etching its way on to her brow.

When she came to a stop right in front of him, he stared blankly down his nose at her and intoned, "the Queen does not wish to be disturbed." before his eyes returned to staring at the wall behind her, the dismissal having been delivered without exception and leaving no room for argument.

She could do naught but continue on her way, as the Guards were well aware of who she was and if Regina gave them a command, she had no doubt she would be thrown in the dungeon if she were to attempt bypassing him and while that wouldn't generally be a deterrent, she couldn't be sure the Queen would release her when she found out.

It hurt. She had her suspicions for why Regina constantly turned down her requests for company and now, it seemed, they were being confirmed. It wasn't that she didn't _want _the woman; the desire for her was maddening but she couldn't help thinking that as soon as she gave in and allowed the Queen to bed her, she would lose interest and move on.

There was nothing special about her and while their connection was undeniable, love was fleeting, true or otherwise. Her parents loved her before they attempted to sell her off to the highest bidder, their only child in exchange for a few more friendly faces at their annual ball. Her master loved her, or so he had said as he beat and raped her, then forced her to sleep in a small wooden box that would have made a better outhouse than a bedroom.

As far as the stories told, the Evil Queen required happiness and if Emma had learned anything in her twenty-eight years of life, it was that love was painful and simply not worth the agony of enduring when lust and desire proved more effective.

With a sigh, she glanced down at her wrist, the leather suddenly weighing heavily on her arm. Rather than wandering to the stables as she had planned earlier in the morning, she detoured to the tavern in search of something to drown her thoughts and the ache in her chest.

Even in the early hours, one could guarantee men and women alike would have already flocked to where the ale flowed freely and the barmaids dressed provocatively. It seemed that there was no time like the present for getting drunk and groping those who wouldn't tell you to fuck off in the hope they would receive a little extra coin for their troubles, which they wouldn't because men like the ones who frequented places like these were generally disgusting pigs with no thought for anyone but themselves.

"Hello love."

Speaking of pigs, Emma thought as she rolled her eyes at the man and slipped on to the stool beside him. "Killian."

"Bit early for a drink, don't you think?"

Emma side-glanced the mug that sat in front of him with a raised eyebrow and then flipped him the finger without a reply, signalling the bartender a second later before she turned her attention to the few bodies surrounding the tables. Most appeared as though they had stumbled out of their beds, or perhaps never even left the tavern to begin with. Some nursing mugs of their chosen poison, whether alone or with another, their heads hung low; most likely suffering from their own aches brought on by the night before.

The pirate could never take a hint. Drink after drink, her mind began to cloud over and he slowly drew her into conversation. He talked about his voyages at sea and across other worlds, he fixated on a world called Neverland and someone who called themselves Peter Pan. She had heard stories, of course, though none quite as dark as the tales he wove about kidnapping and children who were forced to endure their childhoods far longer than anyone should have to be stuck in that period of their life.

Just the thought of still being a pre-teen sent shivers down her spine, remembering all those ridiculous dresses she wore that her mother claimed made her look _adorable _and _like such a little Princess._ Needless to say, she spent a lot of her younger days questioning her parentage, wondering if perhaps the midwife had somehow switched her at birth and there was another child out there with the wrong parents, mourning their lack of intelligence.

"You know love, I've always had somewhat of a thing for you." Killian confessed around the time of her fifth drink.

Emma blinked. He had been quiet for a while now, staring at her as if he expected her to spontaneously burst out into song. Although knowing him as she did, it was more likely he had spent the entire time thinking about how she might look naked.

"That's nice, Killian."

She had no idea how much time had passed but she was fairly sure it had been too long and she would need to return to the palace soon, so she stood to leave and would have stumbled head first into the floor if not for the pirate who suddenly had his arms around her.

When she looked up to offer him a small smile of gratitude, she managed a, "Th-" before he had his lips pressed against hers for reasons she couldn't quite comprehend.

Killian stiffened against her before she had the thought to push him away and in her confusion, all she could do was watch as he flew through air and crashed into the wall with a sharp thud, falling unconscious to the ground as every sound in the place ceased to exist.

Emma didn't need to turn around to figure out what happened, the wisps of purple smoke that dissipated before her very eyes told her all she needed to know. Enough dread pierced through her alcohol soaked brain, that her legs weakened and, were it not for those same wisps reaching for her, she would have collapsed to the floor with the weight that now settled firmly in her gut.

For minutes that seemed endless, silence stretched throughout the room as the people waited for what was to come and Emma closed her eyes, shoulders slumping as she joined the people in their wonder. She had come here to escape her worries, only succeeding in adding to them and now, regret joined the plethora of emotions that already gathered inside her.

"Claude, take that wretched fool to my favourite cell." Regina's husky tone commanded as she slowly gravitated over to the blonde who still hadn't acknowledged her presence. Were it not for the tension she could literally _feel_ radiating from her, Regina might have been insulted but for now, she chose to stay in control of her actions to prevent any more of a scene than the one that had already transpired.

Slipping her arms around Emma's waist from behind, Regina pulled their bodies together and smirked at the audible hitch of breath it drew, placing her chin on the blonde's shoulder as she cooed in her ear. "You, Princess, will be coming with me."

* * *

In a swirl of smoke, Emma found herself inside her room of the palace, her body still firmly wrapped within the warmth of the Queen's embrace and though she already knew what was coming, she allowed them both a moment to enjoy it. Somehow the alcohol that had created a haze in her mind had disappeared in the seconds it took for Regina to transport them and she was surprisingly clear-headed enough to register the exact point when the brunette's mood shifted.

"You won't be needing this anymore." As Emma resigned herself to punishment, Regina grabbed her wrist and tore the bracelet off before she shoved her over to the bed.

"I do hope you enjoyed yourself because I guarantee, you're not going to like what I have in store for you."

Emma's eyes widened as Regina snapped her fingers, feeling the enchantment break and the tether between them tightening, the connection growing stronger with each passing second as an inferno ignited in her veins and her clothes disappeared. Every inch of her body throbbed painfully, worsened by the lips that parted in a cruel smile and the dark laugh that rose in the Queen's throat as she watched Emma curl in on herself.

"Regina.." Emma croaked, gasping as the simple use of her name had liquid heat moistening her thighs.

The brunette tutted as she reached down to trace a cheekbone with the tip of her finger before burying her hand within blonde curls. "This, my dear, is how I have felt ever since I started casting my little spell for you. You see, when I dampened our connection, the excess had to go somewhere and I have walked the palace with this burden for so very long that I think now is the perfect time for you to take over."

"Worry not, my love." She purred as she leaned over the shaking form of the Princess. "For once I am finished with that sleazy pirate, I will return to accept your choice and, should you choose wisely, your suffering will be short-lived compared to my own."

Emma groaned and her eyes rolled back in her head as nails raked against her scalp, she was barely able to think with the strength of the arousal running through her and she could only manage a single word that sounded more like a sob. "Choice?"

Regina hummed her confirmation and explained. "You have two choices. Either you will surrender to me, or you will leave. If you're lucky, you might be able run far enough to break the spell but we will be forever bound in our misery."

Reluctantly pulling away, Regina straightened herself. "I am done waiting, Prince-" She was interrupted, startled by the hand that wound itself within the skirts of her dress.

Emma was looking up at her, eyes pleading as she begged. "Let me choose now."

The Queen's laughter filled the room once more and she flicked her hand, forcing the blonde to release her as she was flung to the opposite side of the bed. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

As she moved backwards, their eyes remained locked while Regina spoke. "You need time to adjust, to rid yourself of all those dirty little thoughts that no doubt infest your mind at this very moment. Then, and only then, may you decide."

Turning, she pulled open the door and surprised the blonde with her parting words. "Sweet dreams, Emma."


	4. Chapter 4

When a knock came at her door, Emma hurried from the bathing room and launched herself on to the bed, draping the furs across her body and cringing as the texture of them against sensitive flesh caused her nipples to harden instantly.

Emma had a newfound appreciation for the Queen, knowing that while she had gone blissfully unaware of their connection for the past month, Regina had willingly taken the torture upon herself without so much as a complaint. She wanted to slap her senseless, of course, that went without saying. There was no way that this wasn't considered 'cruel and unusual' not to mention ridiculous and frustrating as all hell.

"Come in," she rasped, her voice hoarse after all the hours she had spent attempting to relieve herself of the so-called _punishment. _

Graham entered a moment later and her eyes narrowed on the platters of food in his arms. When he noticed her practically drooling, he grinned and placed them on the table beside the bed. "Her Majesty said you might be in need of something to replenish your strength."

Emma rolled her eyes and leaned over, snatching a handful of apple slices which she popped into her mouth one after the other, too thankful for the burst of juices that slid soothingly down her throat to be embarrassed by the moan that escaped her.

"Good?" He asked, an amused twinkle in his eyes.

"Gods yes," she laughed as she reached for more, only to pause when she noticed the pitcher. "What's that?"

"Water," he replied with a chuckle as her face scrunched in disgust. "The Queen thought you might want to be sober this evening."

Her heart skipped and she would have knocked the pitcher from the table as she overreached if not for the Captain's reflexes. She cleared her throat, offering him a smile as he poured the drink himself and passed it to her. "Thank you,"

"Will she.." Emma trailed off, unsure why she would ask him when she doubted Regina would have told him anything beyond the order to bring her food. "Nevermind."

"It was implied that she would come to you tonight, if that's what you were wondering." He smiled as she eyed him curiously. "She may not speak much beyond the occasional command but I've known her for a long time."

She nodded, accepting the explanation as she drank her water and allowed herself to relax. When she finished, she placed the goblet back on the table and looked to him with a frown before she startled him with a sudden laugh. "I uh.. You can't leave until I dismiss you, can you?"

He shook his head with a grin.

"Right," she matched his grin. "Before I do. Do you know what happened to Killian? I mean, she didn't kill him did she? Not that I don't want to for what he pulled but.."

As soon as she mentioned the pirate, he flinched and all his training as the Queen's guard flew out of the window as he rubbed the back of his neck, his expression brought to mind a sheepish teenager who had been caught with his hand up a skirt.

"Well..."

_"Killian." Regina smiled sweetly in greeting as she entered the cell with the Captain of her Guard, her tone far too pleasant to be considered sincere. She wanted to make him suffer for thinking he had any right to what she thought of as hers, despite the blonde's protests to the contrary._

_ "Your Majesty." His chains rattled as he shifted uncomfortably. "Is there a reason I'm bound to the wall of your dungeon?"_

_ Her eyebrow rose curiously and her smile widened into a predatory one, his tone sounded far too calm in her ears. The fact that he couldn't remember the event that put him in the current situation would make a lesser person hesitate, perhaps even reconsider punishing someone too inebriated to control themselves but she was the Evil Queen and she would take pleasure in making an example out of him._

_ "It seems that your drinking problem has caused you quite the dilemma," she said as she moved toward the center of the room, the torches along the walls flaring brightly to banish what darkness had remained, revealing all that had been hidden from view. "You made a very bad mistake this afternoon, taking advantage of a woman too intoxicated to resist your advances."_

_ Her eyes flashed dangerously and a snarl curled her lips. "You disgust me." After a pause, the smile returned. "And I find that your usefulness has run its course."_

_ Before he had the chance to respond, she threw up a hand and allowed the magic to flow from her fingertips. It coiled like rope around his throat, weaving and constricting, preventing the air from reaching his lungs as the pressure increased on his windpipe. "You should know better than to touch what isn't yours, Killian."_

_ "I.." His body lurched in his attempt to breath and his teeth snapped shut as the bindings around his neck squeezed. _

_ "Let me guess." She tapped her chin, feigning thought. "You didn't know." _

_ He nodded frantically, eyes wide with fear and she laughed, an ominous little sound that would send even the most seasoned soldier running for the hills. "Perhaps you should stay away from women who aren't sober enough to tell you that you're a disgusting piece of filth, unfit to even share the same air as my Emma."_

_ His mouth opened and she released her hold enough to allow him to speak between panted breaths. "My Queen, she has no mark. I didn't know she was yours, I swear to you."_

_ Regina blinked, then frowned and shook her head. "She isn't my pet, you imbecile."_

_ "Then what.." His confused expression changed in the blink of an eye, replaced by one of amused curiosity as realisation dawned. _

_ "You're in love with her," he stated with a laugh. _

_ Finding that it was easier to control herself without the burden of her connection to Emma, Regina lowered her hand and allowed him to have his moment, tilting her head with a questioning eyebrow raised as she studied him._

_ "Oh this is rich, the Evil Queen thinks the Lost Princess, daughter of her enemy is her true love and you think I'm the one who doesn't stand a chance."_

_ When he was done, another smile came to her lips. Beneath the amusement, she could see the pain in his eyes and it positively thrilled her. "Poor Killian, there's no need to disguise your heartbreak with such cruel words."_

_ In a few short steps, she stood before him and grasped him roughly by the chin. "You're a silly, delusional little man." _

_ He sneered at her and she laughed, her nails sinking into his jaw as she taunted, "At this very moment, the daughter of my enemy is laid gloriously naked in her bed and likely still moaning my name as she touches herself." _

_ She stepped back, holding her arm out to the side as she summoned forth the sword that hung above her bed. _

_ "I was going to kill you for touching her but now that I know you actually feel something for her, this is simply too good to resist." Holding the weapon in front of her so that he could watch, she ran her finger along the steel and smiled as it drew blood. _

_ "Fitting, that I should use her blade to take your filthy hand as my trophy, hmm?" As she spoke, the shackle around his left wrist released. "Graham."_

_ The Captain moved from his position beside the door and came to stand beside her, "My Queen?"_

_ "Be a dear and hold his arm for me, will you?"_

"Riiight," Emma interrupted him. "No need to continue, you look like the kind of person who'd enjoy telling me every minute detail but I definitely do not need to know anymore, thanks."

Graham inclined his head with a small grin and she waved towards the door. "You can go now, I wouldn't want the Queen to think you're slacking and chop off your leg or anything."

When the door closed behind him, she called out, "And she better have cleaned my sword!" She closed her eyes to the sound of his muffled laughter and made a mental note to replace the weapon either way.

* * *

"Did you tell her?" Regina turned her head to him as she enquired from the settee beside the fire, having summoned her Captain as soon as Sidney had informed her of his departure from Emma's room.

"Yes, my Queen." He responded.

"And?" She prompted him with an impatient scowl.

He cleared his throat, bowing his head as he detailed the blonde's reactions throughout the telling of his story, having paid close attention as the Queen had told him to and once he was finished, a small smile played across her lips.

It had been two days since she had dealt with Killian and banished him from her realm, she worried that Emma would think her methods were extreme but from what he has told her, the blonde didn't appear to be nearly as bothered as Regina assumed she would be. She wasn't certain what beliefs Emma held in regard to morality, though she was pleased, at least, that the woman wasn't the self-righteous, all high and mighty sniveler that her mother was.

"Do you think she will be-" She turned away from him, biting her lower lip as the silence fell and stretched, her question going left unsaid.

Graham inhaled deeply and counted to ten before he stepped forward, lowering his voice as he said, "I believe she was excited at the prospect of seeing you tonight, my Queen."

He hurried to step back as her head snapped around to stare at him, a mixture of anger and.. relief. Still, he averted his gaze and swallowed the lump in his throat as she rose from her seat and wandered over to him. He tried not to flinch when her knuckles swiped his cheek softly, an unusually affectionate gesture considering.

Having caught the twitch at the corner of his eye, she then patted his cheek before giving him leave. "Dismissed, Captain," and smirked as he quickly left the room.

* * *

Regina was nervous and no amount of scolding herself could change the fact. It was entirely absurd. She was the Evil Queen, the stuff of both fantasies and nightmares but repeating that to herself didn't lessen her nerves any and only seemed to make everything worse.

She had been fine for most of the day, up until she departed the Great Hall only to find that night had fallen during her meetings with the Noble Houses. She hadn't realised how much time had passed and once she did, there was no plan in place should Emma choose to the less favourable of choices. Her relief from that morning was short-lived when it occurred to her that the Princess could have simply been excited to _leave _and finally put an end to her imprisonment, which turned her mood sour rather abruptly.

And now she was on her way to the woman who held her heart in the palm of her hand, capable of crushing the blackened muscle with a few simple words that would leave her feeling abandoned, unworthy and unloved – not that any of those things were unfamiliar to her.

With each step, her mood seemed to darken along with her thoughts and by the time she reached the Princess' Chamber, she merely glared at the guards standing in her way until they parted cautiously, slowly as if afraid she would set them all ablaze; which she probably would have if not for Emma yanking open her door at the sound of the repetitive thumps.

"Hey," Emma smiled, stepping aside to allow the brunette entry before she closed the door firmly behind her.

Regina moved toward the bed before she turned and gave the blonde the once over. "I see you've made your decision."

"What?" Emma frowned and looked down at herself then looked up again with her eyebrow raised. "You think I've decided to leave because I'm wearing clothes?"

"Is that not why? Because if not-" Regina raised her hand and the blonde's outfit disappeared with the flick of her wrist, a smirk adorning plump lips. "-I prefer this view."

Emma released an amused snort and closed the distance between them, placing her hands on slim hips and pulling the Queen against her. "I didn't think you'd appreciate me giving your guards a show when I opened the door for you," she said, a grin dancing along her lips as her words caused a possessive growl to rumble within the brunette's throat.

Hands slipped beneath the Queen's leather coat, running the length of her stomach, over her breasts to her shoulders. Emma spoke as she pushed, the leather falling to pool on the floor. "Are you going to remove the spell now?"

A perfect eyebrow rose and Regina leaned in to her, a hint of spiced wine on her breath as she shook her head and replied. "I believe you have yet to say the words, Princess."

"Good luck with that ever happening," Emma chuckled and spun the brunette, one hand molded to her hip while the other began manipulating the laces that held together the bodice of her dress.

Regina inhaled sharply at the change of position. After almost three days under the spell, Emma should have been begging to be touched at this point. She tilted her head to the side as lips descended on her neck and moaned, "What are you doing?"

Pulling back to reply, Emma lifted her head. "You," she said, returning to her ministrations and missing the eye roll she received as she slid a hand inside the now open bodice to caress warm olive flesh, the stomach clenching beneath her touch.

Regina groaned as a tongue traced a path up her neck, flicking along her ear and taking the lobe into a hot mouth. She swallowed and tried to regain enough control of her breathing to ask, "You're not going to try and talk me into removing it?"

Emma turned Regina again and guided her down to the bed. Looking into brown eyes being slowly devoured by lust, she smiled cheekily and said, "I have much more interesting things to do with my mouth."

She began by placing kisses along the Queen's jaw, dragging soft lips down the column of her throat and bathing her clavical with her tongue. Teeth nipped the top of breasts and with Regina's sounds of encouragement, Emma sucked a hardened bud into her mouth, alternating lips, tongue and teeth while the brunette squirmed.

"I want to touch you," Regina breathed between moans, her fingers clutching at the furs beneath her as Emma turned her attention to the neglected nipple. She had no idea how the blonde wasn't demanding to be fucked, how it was that _she _was the one in this position but she didn't want it to stop.

Emma trailed a path back from her chest to Regina's mouth and slowly traced the brunette's lips with her tongue before she murmured, "Undo the spell."

"No," Regina growled as her eyes fluttered shut. Her resistance wouldn't last much longer if she kept looking into those emerald orbs, staring at her as though she were a succulent meal waiting to be consumed.

"Guess you'll have to restrain yourself then." Pushing herself from the bed, Emma set about removing the brunette's clothes, doing her best to ignore the throb between her legs as she pressed her lips to every inch of newly revealed flesh.

When she had finished, she looked up and her mouth went dry at the sight of Regina's cunt; swollen and glistening with wetness. She couldn't resist leaning forward to swipe her tongue through slick folds, moaning her delight as the slightly salty tang overwhelmed her tastebuds and with a growl, she attacked the woman's sex with her mouth.

Regina cried out in surprise, having fully expected the blonde to return to her previous position on top of her. She tried to lift her head but when Emma grabbed her by the ankles and forced her feet on to the bed, spreading her legs as wide as she could, she slammed back down to the mattress and bucked her hips as Emma entered her with her tongue.

Threading her fingers through blonde curls, she almost howled when Emma stopped and was on the verge of throwing the woman across the room until Emma nipped her thigh and said, "No touching." Her hands practically flew back to the furs, gripping them as tight as she could while Emma resumed.

Nails raked along her thighs and the tongue penetrated her again and again. Sounds vibrated against her, through her as Emma moaned her appreciation for the Queen's taste over and over. Regina could feel the pressure building inside her, threatening to overcome her at any moment if Emma didn't slow down and she encouraged it, thrusting her hips as much as she could with her ankles still clutched within the blonde's firm grip.

And just when Regina thought she would explode, Emma stopped again. "Fuck!"

"Ready to remove it yet?" Emma cocked an eyebrow and grinned, silently hoping she wouldn't be murdered for her feigned fearlessness.

"I c-can't," Regina stuttered, shaking her head back and forth.

"Why?" Emma released her and stood, climbing on to the bed and atop the brunette, brushing her lips along the woman's flesh as she awaited a reply.

"It.." Regina started, pausing to lick the dryness from her lips before she continued. "It would be like tossing you into a newly thawed stream after a harsh wintertide."

Emma closed her eyes and rested her forehead against Regina's chest, breathing a sigh as she said, "That's why I was meant to talk you into removing it."

Regina hummed her confirmation.

"I'm too sensitive," Emma admitted softly.

"Being pressed to you like this has me feeling as though I'm about to burst into flames." She shifted to the side of the brunette and slid her hand down the woman's stomach as she continued to speak. "This- doing this, makes me think I'll leave you scarred, burned with a simple touch as my fingers glide along your body."

"Your warmth.." Regina whimpered as two fingers easily entered her, the blonde's voice was like aphrodisiac. "Like liquid fire, wrapping itself around me, refusing to let go as it slides beneath my skin and enters my veins."

Her breathing shallowed as Emma stroked her walls, blood rushing to her ears and drowning out the sound of the whispered discourse. She arched her back as Emma seemed to understand her inability to continue listening and latched on to her breast.

Teeth nipped and tongue soothed.

Fingers thrust, faster, harder.

Pleasured moans mixed with panted breathes, whimpers and the sound of flesh on flesh.

Her body shone with sweat, suffused with heat that only increased with the pace of the hand that pumped in and out as she barrelled towards the edge of unimaginable bliss.

"Oh Emma, " Regina sighed. "Please don't stop."

Emma grinned, pulled out, slammed back in with three and pressed down on her clit with the pad of her thumb. Regina screamed her name into the air and it became like a chant throughout the Queen's release, from a sharp cry to a breathy, barely recognisable whisper as the brunette slumped to the bed with her eyes closed and a smile on her lips.

Nuzzled into Regina's neck, Emma whispered the words, "I want you, I surrender." She closed her eyes and the spell immediately broke, a wave of cold flowing over her, soothing the boil of her blood as a head lolled to the side and lips were lovingly pressed to her forehead.

* * *

**Author Note: **More! I know.

_Insert eye roll._


	5. Chapter 5

**Author Note: **Instead of using this opportunity to complain about how needy you lot are, I'm going to be serious and thank you all for the reviews and support I've received for this story.

I am truly ecstatic that you guys are enjoying it and keep asking me for more. I really do appreciate it.

* * *

They had fallen asleep in each other's arms.

Regina was the first to wake, confused for only a moment before Emma's warmth registered against her side. Somehow during the night, Emma had moved down the bed and rested her head on Regina's stomach while soft curls were splayed out across her chest.

Emma's expression was one of tranquil contentment and it brought a smile to Regina's lips, her heart filled with warmth at the sight and, seeing that someone could feel that way in the safety of her embrace, was like a balm to her soul.

She had always wondered if she would find someone who made her feel the way that Emma does; lighter.

Not in the _Good and Evil_ sort of way; she was Evil. She relished her role as a villain, she was spectacular at being one and that wasn't about to change.

Lighter, as in more carefree and less burdened by a meaningless existence, of a life where her choices had constantly been ripped from her.

Fate played a big role in her life, most often mapping the path that would lead her to her future self but sometimes, sometimes it would carve multiple trails. It would provide a choice that would, occasionally, seem pointless and inconsequential in the short-term but it would have long-lasting effects. She believed this, love, to be one of those. An opportunity to grasp, if you wanted it and one that would pass you by and perhaps, make you less whole, if you allowed it.

Many years ago, when Fate had revealed the choice to her, she had chosen her revenge over the possibility of happiness and while she never once regretted it, she had wondered what her life would be like if she had taken that dreaded leap of faith. It was surprising when the choice was presented to her again and it was that wonder, that had led her to acceptance.

And again, she felt no regret for her decision.

She let her eyes drift over the form of her love, noting that neither of them had apparently grown cold in the night and bothered with the furs that laid under them. Pale skin seemed to hear her thoughts and she watched as Emma's flesh prickled with bumps, her smile widening when the blonde tried to burrow further into her as her subconscious picked up on the sudden drop in temperature.

These were the things she had missed out on in her years as Queen, with no one beside her. Sure, she had her bed warmers, her pets, those who would admire her from both near and far but love, well that was something that had died along with her father.

When Emma stirred, it had nothing to do with the hand that stroked lovingly across her flesh as fingertips paused in their journey along smooth skin, tapping their nonsense rhythm before moving on and repeating the action elsewhere. She could have remained blissfully asleep through that. It was the tension, muscles that pulled taut beneath olive skin and radiated distress that had her eyes snapping open.

She raised her head, breath catching in her throat as she witnessed the lone tear that fell from chocolate eyes. Even as she rose to reposition her head upon the brunette's shoulder, Regina appeared unaware as she continued to stare up at the ceiling, lost in thoughts that she had long since buried.

Emma pressed her lips to a jaw that twitched in response, murmuring the brunette's name until the eyes blinked and the head shifted to look at her. "What's wrong?" she whispered between soft kisses.

Regina smiled as emerald pools shone with tender concern and she placed a finger under the blonde's chin, tilting Emma's head back so she could capture the lips that had rescued her from her thoughts. As she pulled away, Regina tucked a stray curl behind Emma's ear and closed her eyes briefly when a hand reached up to touch her cheek, a thumb swiping another tear that had managed to escape her notice.

"I was thinking about my father," Regina murmured, her hand resuming its wandering of Emma's body now that she was free to touch as she pleased. "He died a few years ago, I haven't thought about him in a while."

"Your first night of sharing a bed with me and that is what you think about the next morning?" Emma teased.

She inwardly sighed as the tension finally released and the buzz of discomfort that had forced her awake abated as Regina chuckled, shaking her head as she replied, "Love was the first thought I had, the way you looked so peaceful as you slept."

"So you do love me," Emma said, almost too quietly for the brunette to hear but not quite and there was no hesitation when Regina responded.

"I do. I rarely say things that I do not mean, Emma."

Emma released a sound of disbelief that caused the Queen to frown down at her, following as Emma attempted to roll away and before the blonde could protest, Regina straddled her hips and fixed her with a disapproving glare.

"You doubt me?" Aside from the curiosity, Regina's tone was emotionless.

Sucking on her bottom lip thoughtfully, Emma shook her head after a beat of silence. "I doubt love in general. Anyone who has ever.. expressed it either used, abused or discarded me."

"Unlike those people, I will prove my love for you until my dying breath." Placing her hands on either side of Emma's head, Regina leaned forward and lightly brushed pink lips with her own as she spoke. "Now, tell me who they are so that I may have them found and beheaded for treating you so poorly."

Emma smiled and raised her hand to run her fingers along the brunette's jaw, murmuring as she clasped the back of her neck. "That would be a near impossible task to carry out in order to prove your love for me, considering I killed most of them myself."

"Most of them." Regina pressed her lips to Emma's in a soft kiss before she sat back. Her hands roamed from shoulders to chest, cupping the blonde's firm breasts as she questioned, "That would imply there is someone you've yet to punish, so who is it?"

Emerald orbs vanished behind closed lids as Emma arched her back into the hands and she breathed her answer, "My parents." Thumbs stroked pert nipples, circling them as they quickly hardened under Regina's manipulative touch while she thought about Emma's response.

After a few short minutes, Regina bowed her head and drew one of the nubs into her mouth. It was too early in the morning to contemplate the breaking of a decades-long truce and, while there would never be a good time to speak of the nauseating Snow White and her dim-witted Shepherd, pleasuring her Princess certainly trumped that conversation.

Emma's hands fell to Regina's thighs, clutching them desperately as she rolled the nipple with her tongue and bit down before moving to the other and doing the same.

Once she was satisfied with the sounds that spilled from Emma's lips, Regina turned her attention to the rest of the body she had yet to worship with her mouth. Lips traversed flesh as she kissed and licked her way to hips, stopping only to make her mark below Emma's navel. She sucked the skin between teeth and clamped down, forcing a cry from the blonde's throat that sent a wave of heat to her sex.

Fingers weaved their way through her silken strands and she felt the pressure against her head as Emma encouraged her to where she needed her most. Regina closed her eyes and resisted for a long moment, enjoying the scent of Emma's arousal as it drifted from between legs, her mouth watered at the thought of finally tasting the woman after all the time she had waited.

Slowly, Regina descended further until she hovered above swollen folds that begged for the warmth of her mouth and Emma groaned, a guttural sound that echoed through the room as soft lips flitted across her sex before a tongue parted her folds to stroke the length of her slit.

Regina slipped her hands beneath the blonde to massage the cheeks of her ass as she explored tantalizing flesh, gathering the sweet, wet warmth on her tongue, moaning when she swallowed and the flavour exploded in her mouth, coating her throat as she continued to coax more of the delicious wetness to drip from Emma's cunt.

"Regina," Emma cried softly and brown eyes darted up, over the torso that constricted with each lap of her tongue, to green pools that begged for more.

Hips rose from the bed as Emma felt fingers slide against her folds, parting them for the tongue that prodded at her entrance and she whimpered as the tip pushed into her. Unable to close her eyes and break her stare with the brunette, she watched as the tongue began a slow pace of measured thrusts, brown orbs darkening with each passing second.

The build up to her release was torturous.

When Emma pushed through the haze that started to cloud her mind and requested fingers, Regina mentally smirked and continued thrusting into her as she wrapped an arm around Emma's thigh and rubbed her clit between her thumb and forefinger.

It was an obvious refusal to relinquish control, a compromise that only frustrated Emma for a second before Regina's nail flicked a particularly sensitive area that had a gush of wetness flowing into the brunette's mouth, her hum of pleasure sufficiently distracting the blonde from protesting. Emma tightened her grip, causing the brunette to growl as her hair was pulled and she pinched Emma's clit in retaliation, eliciting a sharp cry from the blonde as she rocked her hips against Regina's talented mouth.

"I'm so close, Regina. Please," Emma whimpered and Regina closed her eyes to the sensations the plea conjured within her. Her stomach seemed to be doing somersaults while her heart beat rapidly against her chest, her breath having caught somewhere along the path from her lungs to her mouth.

She had a sudden desire to kiss her Princess and refused it a second thought as she tore her mouth away from between the blonde's legs and surged upwards, claiming those delectable lips, shoving her tongue into the mouth that eagerly welcomed the intrusion as she slid three fingers into Emma's tight cunt.

Pleased or disappointed, Regina couldn't decide as the body unravelled below her. She had wanted to taste, to consume the blonde's very essence as she came and yet, it would take an entire army or ten to pull her away from the lips and tongue that danced gracefully with her own even as Emma shook uncontrollably through her release.

As Emma came down from her high, the kiss turned lethargic and her eyes fluttered open as Regina pulled away to stare down at the stunning sight of the blonde's expression and when the most heart-stopping smile appeared, Regina could see that every single thought and emotion she had in that moment was reflected within the emerald depths.

* * *

It had to be some time around noon when they emerged from Emma's chamber and Regina smirked as she moved passed the guards who refused to meet her gaze, no doubt having heard the sounds of their activities from behind closed doors.

Emma merely shook her head upon spotting the satisfied upturn of plump lips and kept pace with the brunette, their hands brushing every so often as they walked the halls and Regina led them to the throne room where she would go about her duties while the blonde provided her company to, _"Lessen the chance of the Queen giving in to temptation and going on a murderous rampage." _Or so Regina had claimed and though Emma suspected the brunette simply wanted to keep an eye on her, she had accepted the reason, if only to spend more time with her.

When they entered, the room fell deathly quiet as the Queen approached her daïs. Regina paused before her throne with a frown and after a minute of consideration, she waved her hand and summoned an almost identical replica of the seat. _Almost_ identical, due to the upholstery being blue rather than purple and the symbol on the back being a swan instead of a tree.

"It is Swan, yes?" Regina asked as they admired her handiwork. "I can change it to a dunce cap, if you'd like to reclaim White as your surname."

With a chuckle, Emma held out her hand and waited for Regina to take it in her own before she guided her up the stairs and over to her throne. "Considering how madly in love with me as you are, I'm surprised you didn't suggest Mills," Emma smirked.

Regina opened her mouth to respond, only to close it when there was a commotion outside of the room. She looked to Graham with a raised eyebrow and he strode over to the doors, yanking them open to the sight of another guard arguing with a man that neither Regina nor Emma recognised.

"Claude! Who is that man and why has he not been thrown in the dungeon for interrupting today's proceedings?" Regina snapped and the sudden ice in her tone sent shivers down Emma's spine.

"He claims to be an emissary from the White Kingdom, my Queen and as such I cannot simply thr-"

"Yes yes," she dismissed the rest of his blathering with a wave of her hand and turned her gaze on the man. "Enter and enlighten me as to why I shouldn't have you beheaded for stepping foot inside my domain."

The man stepped forward and tried his best to hide his nervousness as he glared at the Dark Queen. Emma and Regina saw through his bravado, though neither acknowledged the fact, their expressions blank as he cleared his throat and spoke, "I am here on order of Queen Snow to demand the return of Princess Emma, heir to the White Kingdom."

Eyebrow raised, Regina looked to the Princess in question and asked, "Well dear, would you like to return home?"

Emma tilted her head and puffed her cheeks as she pretended to think about it, then released a breath, shook her head and drawled, "No, I think I'll stay here; I quite like not being married to a simpleton and having the freedom to make my own decisions."

Spreading her arms in resignation, Regina smirked down at the man. "You heard the Princess, now begone before I decide to use you as kindling."

It was apparent to everyone present that the man was none too smart as he stood his ground and sneered up at them, Emma even reached across the space between them to grasp Regina's hand when she noticed it twitching, whether in support or as a means to calm the brunette, no one could be sure.

"Queen Snow requested I inform you that, should you fail to comply, she will have no choice but to see it as a breach of the truce between Kingd-." He tapered off as Regina stood abruptly and snarled down at him, her nostrils flaring in anger.

"Tell your insipid Queen that if her intention is to declare war upon me because she is an awful mother, then I will not be held accountable when her subjects lay dead at her feet!" She gestured for her guards and as they seized him by the arms, she lowered her voice and added, "Inform her that if the time comes, I will take _great _pleasure in removing her head and presenting it to her daughter on a platter."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author Note: **I never promised long chapters, or any plot but sex is always a possibility.

Between our ladies that is - I don't know you people, get away from me.

* * *

After the Emissary had been escorted from the palace, there was an uproar from royals and peasants alike. Most were outraged that Queen Snow would declare war on the Kingdom and risk the lives of her subjects needlessly, while a few outspoken individuals made some rather bold statements regarding the Dark Queen's lust overlapping her common sense and she promptly had them thrown in her dungeon.

It took some effort for Emma to convince Regina not to murder them outright but once she had, some semblance of normalcy returned and they were able to resume without further interruption or threats of agonizingly painful deaths. The Queen sat regally upon her throne, listening to the requests from her subjects while Emma attempted to appear as though she were interested even as her mind wandered back to earlier that morning and her daydreaming eventually overrode her ability to hear a single word that had been said.

At the end of the day, when everyone filtered out of the throne room, Emma and Regina remained. It was a comfort to both of them, having someone whose presence calmed them without the least amount of effort. Were it not for the warmth of each other's skin, it was unlikely either of them would even notice that their hands were still clasped together, bridging the small gap between them.

When the silence became more daunting than thoughtful, Emma was the one to break it with her confession, "I don't want you to kill them."

Regina blinked and her brow creased in a frown but she waited for the blonde to continue, unsure as to how she was meant to respond.

"If I wanted them dead, I would have done it myself a long time ago." Emma turned to her with a pained look in her eyes and a half-lipped smile that clawed at Regina's heart but even then, she stayed silent. "Until I had the courage to stand up to them, to walk out of that throne room on my wedding day, I had never once been given a choice to be the person that I wanted to be but.. that doesn't change the fact that they are my parents."

Regina understood, more than she could ever hope to explain but the truth of the matter was, the choice wasn't hers to make and she needed Emma to understand that more than anything. "I cannot promise you that no harm will come to them, for it is not I who has threatened war. I will not sit passively by should they choose to attack me and as much as I may loathe my subjects from time to time, I will not be idle as they are slaughtered in the streets simply because _I_ am their Queen."

Emma nodded as she stood. She knew that if she wanted to prevent war, it wasn't Regina she needed to convince and though she despised the idea of contacting her parents, it was likely the only chance she had. "I need to see them," she said and the grip on her hand immediately tightened as Regina rose from her seat.

"If you think I would risk losing you now, you are sadly mistaken."

With a smile, Emma leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I was not suggesting that I ride for the White Kingdom alone to speak with them, though I imagine something similar will need to be done before she convinces her people that war is the right and _Good_ decision."

Her grimace spoke volumes as to how she felt when it came to her mother's short-sighted view on morality and Regina couldn't help the little chuckle she gave, she was amused and more than pleased to learn such a thing about her Princess. "Do my eyes deceive me?" Said eyes widened with feigned shock as she asked, "Is Snow White losing her touch? Has she truly failed to inspire righteous stupidity in her own daughter?"

Emma laughed, turning the brunette to face her before she released her hand and grabbed her by the hips, pulling their bodies together. The air surrounding them immediately shifted and she inhaled sharply as she watched the amusement in the Queen's eyes fade, replaced slowly by an unmistakable hunger that set her body alight with need.

"Graham!" Regina shouted as her hands developed a will of their own and began wandering Emma's body, starting with the blonde's chest.

The doors to the throne room opened only seconds later and Graham stepped in, averting his eyes at the sight of the two women as a blush heated his cheeks. He cleared his throat, "Yes, my Queen?"

"See if you can find Killian, make certain that I am not disturbed for the remainder of the day and do something painful to those morons in the dungeon." At Emma's raised eyebrow, Regina rolled her eyes and sighed before adding, "Try not to kill them."

And then they were gone in a puff of smoke.

* * *

Emma hadn't expected them to appear in the royal bedchamber but their location quickly became irrelevant when her shirt was ripped from her body as though Regina were a woman possessed. She found herself being shoved towards the bed, pinned within seconds beneath an entirely naked Queen who looked upon her as a lion does its prey.

Her eyes darted between breasts as she felt the brunette rock against her and she licked her lips as they travelled the torso, stopping at the apex of silken thighs where she could clearly see how wet Regina was for her. When the legs spread wider and Regina sat up, Emma moaned at the sight and the sound of a throaty chuckle met her ears.

She had realised too late that Regina was an addiction, one that would forever be present in her thoughts and a stain upon her soul.

They way she moved, the sounds that fell from perfect lips when the brunette was at the height of her pleasure. It was all Emma had thought about; from the first time they met to this very moment. The woman was cruel, dark in every sense of the word, supposedly incapable of being loved or loving others and yet, with every second spent in her presence, Emma found that she wanted to prove herself worthy of the Queen.

"Is this what you want, Princess?" Regina purred, her voice pure, unadulterated sex as she continued to grind into the tight leather of Emma's trousers. "Do you want to bury your head between my legs and fuck me with that dirty little mouth of yours?"

Emma growled as her hand shot up and grabbed the brunette by the hair, pulling the woman down so that she could capture those lips and put an end to the taunting words, swallowing the laughter that her movement caused as Regina sank willingly into the kiss.

"You're a fucking tease," Emma gasped, breaking the kiss as she rolled them and pressed down with her hips, drawing a lengthy moan from Regina who then wrapped her legs around Emma's waist, preventing her from moving as she rubbed her cunt against the blonde.

The determination that entered emerald eyes had her nipples hardening in anticipation for what Emma would do to regain control and hands came down on either side of her shoulders, the flex of biceps making her even wetter. She flung her arms around Emma's neck as she realised what was about to happen and her back lifted off of the bed, successfully loosening her hold on the waist as Emma sat up.

Finding herself now in the blonde's lap with a hand already positioned between her thighs and a mouth running along her jaw; Regina could only groan in appreciation as lips trailed down her neck, latching on to her pulse while talented fingers played within her slick folds.

"Inside," Regina demanded and her body shuddered when Emma quickly obeyed, two fingers sinking knuckle-deep inside the brunette whose muscles greedily milked the digits as she rocked against the hand. Emma's mind hadn't been the only one that constantly replayed their morning together, not a second had been spent in the throne room where arousal hadn't been a constant distraction from her duties.

Nails dug into Emma's shoulder blades and she hissed, biting down on the pulse beneath her tongue and giving one final suck before she leaned back to watch the myriad of facial expressions of the Queen. She pumped in and out of Regina's cunt, free hand drifting up the sweat-dampened flesh of her back and tangling within brown hair as Emma forced their eyes to meet.

"You're so tight, so wet," Emma whispered, curling her fingers to rub ribbed flesh and she grinned as a surge of wetness coated her hand. "Have you been thinking about this as much as I have?"

Regina hummed before the question even registered but when it did, her eyes narrowed playfully and she flicked her wrist. With the rest of the clothes out of the way, her hand darted between the blonde's legs and she chuckled at what she discovered waiting for her. Her voice lowered an octave as she fingered Emma's pussy and breathed, "You have been thinking about this, haven't you?"

Having suffered with the vivid imagery of her mind all day, combined with pleasing the brunette, Emma was already so very close to the edge and it wouldn't take much to push her over. She moaned as Regina found her swollen nub easily and pressed against it, ignoring the question as she buried her head in the brunette's neck and increased the pace of her thrusts.

Soon enough, Emma could feel the walls contracting around her hand, her own muscles tightening almost painfully as she resisted giving in to the call that beckoned her with the promise of blissful release and closed her eyes to the sensations, mouthing olive flesh as her arm burned with the effort to sustain their position.

When Regina flicked the shell of her ear with her tongue and husked, "Cum with me, my love," Emma stiffened before she tumbled headlong into the abyss, her heart soaring as the brunette inhaled her name on a hitch of breath and fell alongside her.

For what seemed a longer time than it was in reality, they clung to one another through their release, through the aftershocks and further through the composing of their breaths before either of them were ready to release the other and even then it was only so they could lay down, their bodies coming together again as Regina rested her head upon Emma's chest and threw an arm across her waist.

Fingers idly stroked the Queen's back and the comforting thump of Emma's heart filled her ears.

Over the years, she has heard the sound countless times and she had considered it a representation of power and dominance. It used to send her blood racing, magic tingling through every vein in her body that resulted in an inhumane desire to claim the life that survived by its every beat.

But as she lay there in the embrace of the woman she loved, nuzzled against her breast, there was no thrill of dark excitement, no desire to reach in and pluck it from the chest. There was magic, except the feeling it produced was different, somehow better and while there was a yearning just beneath the surface, it was without its usual intent.

"What are you thinking about?" Regina blinked and tilted her head to look at her lover but Emma was looking elsewhere and when she followed her line of sight, her eyes widened with the realisation that her hand was glowing as it caressed the warm flesh of Emma's stomach.

There was no logical reason that it should be, especially without her consent and she was at a loss for words, so said the only thing that came to mind as she pulled away. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Emma asked.

Brows furrowed as a frown creased Regina's forehead and she met Emma's gaze with a confused expression. "I- don't know."

Amusement danced in emerald eyes and Emma laughed before she said, "You weren't hurting me."

"When I wandered the palace gardens as a child, I'd sometimes overhear one of the fairies or wizards talking about how magic was emotion." Emma smiled and reached for the now dormant hand, tugging gently until Regina got the hint and laid back down as she continued, "I was just wondering what you were feeling and questioning your thoughts seemed like the way to find out."

"You," Regina replied, any hesitance washed away by the arms encircling her waist. "I am constantly amazed at the change I find myself going through, simply because of you. Your heart for instance.."

Emma smiled as Regina tapped fingers against her chest. "Its rhythm is unlike any other, it soothes me and somehow I feel like a completely different person. The person everyone knows me as, the one that I know myself as and take pride in being who would not think twice about reaching into your chest and.."

She shakes her head. "Well.. they are one in the same. But when I'm with you, she seems like a memory of someone I used to be and not just in the past, but in another life entirely."


	7. Chapter 7

"Is it true, that you don't like children?" Emma asked. She was lounging in the middle of the Queen's bed, too relaxed to bother with getting dressed as she watched the brunette fixing her hair in the mirror.

Regina's hands paused in their movements, a grin playing across her lips as she wondered why the blonde would be thinking about children within a few minutes of their latest round of mind-blowing sex. Shaking her head, she continued fiddling with her hair as she replied, "Not entirely, I find them rather enjoyable the first ten years or so, it's when they're older that I can't stand them."

Emma ignored the slight pang in her chest and frowned. "Even children you know?"

"Do you see any children around here?" Regina turned to her with a perfectly raised eyebrow. "There is only one child I have ever known and _she _is the reason that I despise them now."

"That is-" Emma sighed and closed her eyes as she finished. "Unfortunate."

"My Queen." Even as her mind filled with questions, Regina spun back to the mirror at the sound of Sidney's voice. "The Captain has returned with news of Killian, he awaits you in the Throne Room."

Looking to where Emma remained sprawled on her bed, Regina debated with herself on whether she would prefer to continue their conversation but after brief consideration, she decided that some things took precedence over her own curiosity and with a huff, she waved her hand dismissively towards the mirror. "Inform him that I will be there shortly."

She frowned at the blonde but shook her head and finished the elaborate braid she had been working on with her magic, then moved towards the door as she asked, "Are you coming?"

Emma gave an exaggerated groan and cracked an eye open, "Do I have to?"

Pulling open the doors, Regina paused as she replied with a little more bite in her tone than intended, "If you _had _to, I wouldn't have _asked." _The doors thudded closed behind her as she moved into the hall and beckoned for the guard beside the door to escort her.

He immediately fell into step behind her and she tried to ignore the sudden niggling feeling in the back of her mind that told her she should turn around, dismissing it as nothing more than her paranoia attempting to get the better of her.

Emma waited a few more minutes before she sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed, bending down to remove a small, circular disk hidden within the sole of her boot.

Glancing around the room, her eyes landed on the mirror and she chewed her lower lip in thought. It wasn't likely that she could trust the genie to keep anything from the Queen, not when he was clearly so smitten with the woman even though she showed no interest, whatsoever, in his attentions.

She knew from their activities last night that there was no reflective surface within the bathing area, at least none that she could remember.

Quickly leaving the bed and donning a shirt, she made her way over and ducked inside, her eyes sweeping over the room. Aside from the intricate metalwork along the panels over the changing screen, she found nothing and smiled as she moved behind the screen where she sat upon the floor.

Grasping the disc tightly within her fist, she closed her eyes and thought of the little boy with blonde hair that never seemed to lose its tousled look, the bright blue eyes that somehow retained their innocence despite the hell their owner had been through and cheeks that dimpled adorably every time he smiled.

Her eyes opened as she felt the warmth that engulfed her hand, the forestal green glow of magic dancing between her fingers.

_"Mom?"_

* * *

"Bartholomew, I didn't expect to find you here." Regina sauntered into the Throne Room, her lip curling in disgust at the sight of him. If there was anyone she disliked as much as Killian himself, it was his pudgy first mate whose greed knew no bounds and whose loyalty meant nothing.

Were he taller, thinner and hadn't the look of someone about to soil their undergarments, he would be the spitting image of Rumpelstiltskin. Regina shuddered at the thought of the imp and moved to her throne, gesturing for Graham to speak so she could get this over with before she gave in to her desire to toss the man out of the nearest window.

Graham clapped the man on the shoulder with perhaps a little more force than necessary, encouraging him to kneel as the Queen sat and Graham spoke, "According to Mister Smee here, the pirate left for Neverland two days ago."

"Oh?" Regina's eyes narrowed as she questioned, "Pray tell, if Killian has indeed done as you say, why are you yourself not on that ship with him? Rather neglectful of your duties as First Mate, is it not?"

"I did not willingly stay behind, your Majesty," he stuttered and her attention was drawn to Graham as he stepped forward with a piece of parchment. "He left me a note with instructions of what he wanted me to do while he was gone."

Snatching it from the Captain's hand, Regina's eyes roamed the parchment and the low growl she gave was loud enough that Graham and Smee both appeared to be bracing themselves. Gritting her teeth, she summoned forth her magic and the note went up in flames, the only evidence of its existence now no more than a pile of ash in the palm of her hand.

"I will not tolerate spies within my palace," she growled. "Captain, I believe there is a cell awaiting someone to fill it."

"Please! I came here of my own free will." Regina looked to Graham for confirmation and he nodded his head, which went unnoticed by the soon-to-be occupant of her dungeon as he continued. "Everyone knows that he angered you, my Queen, I had no intention of doing the same."

Before she could respond, the doors opened to permit Emma who made her way silently through the room and Regina waited for the blonde to reach her before she acknowledged her. "Nice of you to join us, Princess."

"I was bored." Emma shrugged as she replied, looking to their wide-eyed guest with a tilt of her head before she said, "You've been threatening people again, I see."

Regina mimicked the shrug and smirked. "I was bored."

Emma grinned and took her seat beside the brunette, inclining her head towards Graham in greeting as she did so and a good few minutes of semi-uncomfortable silence passed until she realised Regina was looking at her. "Is there something on my face?" Graham coughed and Emma glanced to him, shaking her head as the corners of his mouth twitched.

Her head snapped back to the Queen as she inhaled sharply and something indistinguishable entered her eyes. It was gone within seconds though and Emma was left confused and mildly aroused as Regina turned back to their audience. "Bartholomew, is there by chance a possibility that Killian is in fact within the White Kingdom?"

"No, my Queen." He shook his head. "There is a bounty on his head, thanks to King James. He wouldn't risk it when he could simply return home to Neverland."

"We need to visit them," Emma urged once more when Regina said nothing further.

"Yes," Regina agreed after a beat, standing from her throne as she dismissed the two men. "Bartholomew, if I catch you snooping around my palace, I will not hesitate to have you thrown in a cell; forgotten and left to rot until you are no more than a pile of bones gathering dust."

She gestured to Graham and added, "Remove him from my sight, then return to your post."

Once they were gone from the room, Emma could feel the eyes on her again, studying her as though she were some sort of experiment. It unnerved her and she looked to the Queen, she had no idea what was going through her mind but her expression made it clear that it wasn't anything good.

"You have magic," Regina stated, unsure of how she should feel about the discovery. Emma reeked of it and while it was a pleasant aroma, she wasn't in the right frame of mind to appreciate it. "Were you planning to ever tell me or were you hoping to keep it a secret indefinitely?"

Emma had become so used to the smell that she wasn't even aware of it anymore, it hadn't occurred to her that she might wish to avoid Regina. Lying wasn't an option, even if there wasn't a scent, traces tended to linger on the skin, in the air and they could easily be traced back to her if the person tracking them knew what they were doing; which the Queen no doubt would.

"Not too long ago, I was no more than a prisoner here." She glanced down at her lap as she spoke, "The only thing I knew of you were from stories I had heard, stories that were likely altered over the years, probably doctored to make you appear more villainous than you are."

Regina scoffed but Emma ignored her and continued on, "I told you that people who claim to love me, had a nasty habit of using me and your stories, all of them revolve around two things; your search for happiness and your thirst for power."

"And you thought what? That I would choose your magic over your love?" Emma raised her head at the hurt she could hear within the brunette's tone. "My _thirst _for power was a means to protect myself when life decided that I deserved to be trapped in an endless cycle of misery and despair. My mother, your mother, Rumpelstiltskin; they all wanted something from me and none of them once took the time to consider what I wanted, none of them _cared_ about what I wanted."

The vehemence with which she spat the last of her words caused Emma to stand abruptly. She could sympathise with the brunette and she did, but she wouldn't sit there and allow the implication that she were somehow at fault, that she had no cause to be cautious when the only thing she had to go on when it came to the Queen were the stories she heard and things she saw during her time in the palace.

"You cannot honestly stand there and tell me I had no reason to hide the fact that I have magic." Emma's voice rose in pitch and Regina's eyes widened, it had been a while since the blonde had been angry with her. "I know _nothing _about you, I could write what little anyone knows of your past on my hand and still have room for more."

Taking a deep breath, Emma descended the daïs and stood at the bottom of the stairs, her back to the brunette. "You enjoy hurting people, you flaunt your power over them at any given opportunity and show no regret, no remorse - just pure, unadulterated glee at their suffering."

She wasn't judging.

Emma understood better than anyone what life was capable of doing to a person by itself and to know that other people had taken part in actually shaping the Evil Queen provided insight but even if it hadn't, Emma would never think herself better. "I can honestly say that I don't _care _but don't you fucking dare act like I committed some unforgivable sin by keeping this from you."

Regina unceremoniously slumped back down to her throne as, before she could even wrap her mind around the words, Emma disappeared in a swirl of green smoke.

* * *

This was a bad idea, Emma thought as she stalked the halls of her former home. Even though she had been gone for a decade, everyone appeared to recognise her still and they all stared as she made her way to where she thought her parents would be. It was the afternoon and unless they had changed century-old traditions, they were meant to hold court at this time.

She ignored the curtsies, the surprised greetings of respect she had never earned that people deemed her worthy simply because of her lineage and despite the fact she was no longer a Princess, at least not in her eyes and when she stepped into the throne room, the shocked gasps sounded from every corner as she strolled confidently down the red carpet to stand before the King and Queen.

Snow's whisper broke through the stunned silence that followed. "You're here."

"I am." Emma said as she studied the two who sat upon their thrones, looking far older than she remembered them. She raised her voice for those in attendance before either of them could dismiss their subjects and attempt a reunion with her. "I came to prevent a war and the senseless slaughter of thousands of innocents."

Murmurs began almost instantly but she continued as if the silence remained. "As much as I loathe coming back here, I will not condone murder being committed in my name."

"What are you talking about?" James asked and the confusion on his face made it clear that he hadn't been aware of the little messenger his wife had sent them.

Emma smiled, she almost pitied him. "I am talking about the Emissary that came to inform Queen Regina that should I not return to the White Kingdom, war would be declared and I would be taken by force."

James looked to his wife. "When he told us where she was, you said it would be her decision, that you would contact her and ask her to come home."

"Also why I am here," Emma interrupted. If they were to argue, she didn't want to stick around for it. "Who told you where I was?"

Snow opened her mouth to respond, likely to refuse her an answer but James spoke before she could. "Rumpelstiltskin, Baelfire convinced him to look for you and when he found you, he came to tell us in the hopes you would return and reconsider marrying his son."

With a shake of her head, Emma turned her back to them and made her way back towards the exit. Twenty-eight years old, ten years of estrangement and they were still attempting to use her as a reward for an alliance. She had the information she required, far more easily than she thought it would be, though the sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach seemed to think it could have come quicker.

"Where do you think you're going?" Snow asked from between clenched teeth.

"Home." Emma replied without looking back, she needed to tell Regina who was responsible, needed to make sure that she hadn't ruined everything by vanishing and not telling anyone where she had gone.

"Guards!"

Emma was ripped from her thoughts by the shouted command, brows knitting in confusion as she stopped in front of the men that barred her from leaving. She had hoped, foolishly it seemed, that they would respect her wishes and she couldn't keep the disappointment from her voice as she asked the Queen, "You would keep me here, against my will?"

"To protect you." She confirmed.

"Ten years." Emma said. "I have survived on my own, for ten years and you think I want your protection? I want _nothing_ from either of you. When are you going to stop deluding yourself and accept the fact that I don't need you, that I never did."

"We are your parents!" Snow shouted, the blatant show of disrespect was enough to break the fragile control she had on her anger.

"You are nothing!" Emma spat as she turned back to them. "You gave up any right to call yourselves that when you decided to trade me off to that grotesque imp and his moronic son."

"Fine." the brunette stood from her throne and glared down at her daughter. "I may not be the one you call mother, but I _am _your Queen and you will do as I command."

"Seriously?" Emma's own anger dissipated immediately, replaced entirely with amusement as she stared at the woman before her and chuckled. "Did you not hear me? You're nothing. You're not my mother and though I have a Queen, you most certainly are not she."

For a few tense filled minutes, she allowed her words to sink in and then, while the shock was wearing off and just as she had barely an hour before, Emma disappeared with a triumphant smirk on her lips.

* * *

**Author Note: **I feel weird about this update. Maybe it's the lack of sexy time, all the talking or the apparent anger from everyone but James - I don't know, the muse is being an ass lately.


	8. Chapter 8

When Emma returned to the palace, she didn't have much hope for Regina wanting to speak to her so soon after their disagreement in the throne room, so to find the brunette sitting on her bed was an unexpected surprise and, confronted with the unhappy expression that greeted her, the self-satisfied smirk fell from her lips.

"Where were you?" Regina kept her tone level, not wanting to give the blonde another reason to disappear before they had the chance to talk properly, preferably without the anger; despite the fact that hers was stalking beneath the surface only waiting for her to lower her resistance and release it.

Emma averted her gaze and mumbled something unintelligible, causing Regina's nostrils to flare in annoyance, though she calmed herself before she spoke again. "Would you care to try that again? I'm afraid I didn't keep your mother around long enough for her to teach me how to speak idiot."

With a sigh and roll of her eyes, Emma moved to the bureau and began removing the pieces of her outfit that had served to make her appear decent that she no longer considered necessary, starting with her boots.

"I visited them," she said, tugging the laces that kept her busy and stopped her from attempting to read the brunette's reaction. "I've found that anger allows me to speak my mind freely, without having to consider how my words might affect the person I'm talking to."

She looked up at the sound of Regina's huff and smirked at the amusement she found staring back at her. "It's a useful self-manipulation that works wonders on people too full of themselves to listen otherwise."

"You don't say," Regina drawled, trying her best to ignore the way her skin heated as she watched the blonde undress. "I'm assuming your sudden entrance means I wasn't the only one kept in the dark about your.. abilities."

Emma shook her head in the negative. "I didn't know I had it until my twentieth and the first time I used it was when I stumbled across a slave camp in the forest about three years ago and saved this five-year old boy."

Merely speaking of him reminded her of their conversation this morning and Emma smiled, drowning out the memory of the first time she had met him even as she spoke of it. "One minute I heard this crying, the next I was in the midst of the camp, surrounded by at least twelve corpses with this kid looking up at me as though I were his knight in shining armour."

Regina frowned as Emma spoke. It didn't sound like a pleasant story, yet she was smiling as though she were sharing a cherished memory.

"Is that a happy moment for you?" Regina asked, her frown still present.

Emerald eyes widened and Emma brushed her lips with the tip of a finger before she chuckled softly, shaking her head again as she replied, "The worst of them, actually."

She paused, waited for the inevitable curiosity that transformed the brunette's features, then exhaled a breath and went on. "I don't want to keep any more secrets from you and eventually I'm going to want to bring him back here, so I will tell you now; that boy is part of my life, he may not be mine by blood but he is my son in every way that matters."

Regina sat there, stunned into silence as she stared at her. Their conversation that morning made perfect sense to her now but she hadn't the faintest idea of how she was meant to react. She knew she needed to say something before the blonde freaked, but she didn't know the proper response to finding out the woman you're in love with has a child.

When the silence continued, Emma sighed and moved to the bed where she sat down beside Regina, resigned to waiting for the woman to figure out whatever she needed to in order for them to have an actual conversation.

It was at this point she usually ended up running away, in general at least. There weren't many people who knew about him, save the ones who kept him safe while she avoided anyone and everyone connected to her family. She could vanish with a single thought, go back to him and pretend there wasn't someone on the other side of the realm who wanted her, loved her flaws and all.

But if there was a chance that Regina could accept him, then Emma needed to stay to find out because she could no longer deny being in love with the Dark Queen. Her heart had been ensnared from the moment they met and while she would gladly spend the rest of her life with the woman, there was no life for them if her son couldn't share it.

"Why," Regina started but frowned at the sound of her voice before she cleared her throat and tried again. "Why wasn't he with you? Obviously you wouldn't take him into a tavern but he isn't here, is he?"

Relieved that she hadn't decided to simply disappear and forget this whole thing, Emma smiled as she replied, "He stays with some people I know while I work bounties. It hasn't been the most ideal arrangement, but we've survived this long and he's learned a lot from them. I see him as much as I can, when I'm not suddenly imprisoned, that is." She meant for it to sound teasing but Regina's face fell and Emma wanted to smack herself around the head.

"Hey," she said as she raised her hand to caress the brunette's cheek. "I was kidding. Actually, I should probably thank you."

She laughed at the look of disbelief Regina wore and explained, "I'm serious. While I'm working, I don't have a lot of free time so I couldn't talk to him nearly as often as I wanted to."

"You've spoken to him? Does he have magic as well?" Regina asked with a frown. It was rare for a child to possess magic that wasn't dormant, a child who was capable of using it was simply unheard of.

"Why would you-" Emma started to ask but realisation dawned before she could finish and she shook her head. She stood and walked over to where she had discarded her boots, retrieving the disc which she then tossed to the brunette who managed to catch it despite not being prepared for something to be thrown at her.

"As a bounty hunter, I found it useful to be able to talk to people without expending too much energy by transporting myself to them via magic and well-" Emma shrugged, though Regina was busy examining the item and didn't see it. "He has one of his own. The magic you smelled earlier, I contacted him after you left to deal with Graham and Smee."

"And to think if I had given into my instincts, I would have walked in on you doing so," Regina mused as she turned the disc over in her hand before she looked up and smiled. "I would like to know more of your son and I will overlook the fact you went to see your parents without me; as long as you tell me what you've found out."

The grin that was directed her way was all the evidence Regina required to know that her reaction had been the right one, that she hadn't ruined her second chance at happiness and she couldn't help her own smile from widening at the thought.

Perhaps this child would be yet another turning point for her and maybe, just maybe, she might grow to love him as she does his mother.

* * *

Time swiftly passed and evening came before either of them had noticed the setting of the sun, their conversation had quickly gone from Emma reciting her tale of her visit to the White Kingdom to stories of her childhood and even some of Regina's own.

It had taken awhile for Regina to open up about her past but once she did, she spoke of her life in vivid detail and Emma had found herself constantly stopping the brunette mid-sentence because she needed a moment or two to unscramble her thoughts and calm herself down.

Part of her regretted even asking to know the woman behind the Queen and her masks, but whenever Regina spoke of her father or the man Emma referred to in her head as the Stable Boy, she witnessed a flicker of emotion and something more, something that wanted to remain hidden, lost in the emotionless monotone of her voice as Regina made the effort to appear aloof from the things that had been done to her.

Her own emotions were a mess by the end and it was for that reason that Emma scooted behind Regina, wrapped her arms around her stiff frame and waited for the brunette to relax before she tried to distract them both from disappearing into the thoughts that awaited them as the day came to a close.

"His name is Drew," Emma mumured, burying her face in Regina's neck where she brushed her lips lightly across warm skin and smiled as Regina gave a content sigh and sank into the embrace. "It's really Andrew, but he gets this really pathetic look of a wounded puppy if you call him that."

"You mean the same one you had all those times I declined your invitation to join you whenever you went riding?" Regina teased, moving her hands from her lap and placing them upon the arms around her middle. The affection was entirely foreign to her but as their relationship had progressed, she found that she quite enjoyed the attention, especially when it came in the spur of the moment.

"Yeah," Emma chuckled as her chin came to rest on the brunette's shoulder. "That really sucked by the way."

"As did your intolerable resistance," Regina retorted and she turned, pressing a brief kiss in apology to Emma's cheek before she leaned her head against the blonde's. "Do you think he would like it here?"

Emma snorted. "You live in a freakin' palace, he would love it here."

"Before or after he finds out I kept you here as my prisoner?" Regina frowned as her question garnered another chuckle. Not understanding why Emma found it amusing, she pulled back slightly to stare at her in confusion.

"You're serious?" Emma asked.

Taking the continued stare as confirmation when no response was forthcoming, Emma shook her head and said, "I thought it would have been obvious but I have magic." she paused to allow the brunette the chance to connect the dots but she remained silent which made Emma sigh. "I could have left whenever I felt like it."

"Oh." Once again, Regina was stunned and unable to grasp the words to express what she was feeling.

She had been angry that Emma hadn't told her of her magic, concerned when the blonde disappeared and she couldn't immediately find her – and then when she returned, Regina was so caught up in their conversation that she hadn't had the time to consider what Emma having magic meant.

Now there was a mild hint of anger somewhere within the emotions, but it was so minute compared to the elation from knowing that Emma had willingly stayed and the relief that came when the guilt she had felt due to taking yet another of the blonde's choices, faded.

After a time where Emma merely watched as she worked through her inner turmoil, Regina suddenly surged up off the bed and spun to face her with a look of incredulity as she said, "You let me torture you."

"Hardly," Emma rolled her eyes and slipped to the floor, pulling the brunette back to her by her hips. "Being insanely aroused for almost three days was one hell of an experience but I wouldn't consider it torture, especially considering the things I got to do to you afterwards."

Regina released a deep, throaty laugh as she draped her arms over the blonde's shoulders, eyebrow raised as she asked, "Does this mean I should cast the spell on you whenever I want you to do those _things _again?"

With a hum of feigned consideration, Emma leaned in and captured her lips, hands sliding from hips to a leather-clad backside where she massaged the firm mounds of flesh as Regina moaned into her mouth and parted her lips for Emma's inquisitive tongue.

Neither of them thought the question required any more of an answer than that.

* * *

The small cottage sat on the outskirts of a nearby village, hidden well within the forest and known only to few. Emma had stumbled across the area a time or two while pursuing bounties and the occupants of the home had assisted her both times, neither time had the help been requested but she extended her gratitude all the same and supplied them with a percentage of the rewards.

The family of four were kind, hospitable, unusually sweet and they were quick to become the first people Emma had ever called friends. It was for this reason that two years after having first met them, Emma appeared on their doorstep with a malnourished, sick little boy who had been welcomed into their fold the moment they caught sight of his dimpled cheeks and impish grin.

As they made their way towards the home, the door flew open and a boy emerged from inside with a shouted, "Mom!"

Regina watched as a grin lit up Emma's face, her breath catching in her throat at the sight of it and she smiled as the little blond darted across the space between them, launching himself at his mother who laughed beautifully and scooped him from the ground into her arms.

Even though they were not of the same blood, Regina wouldn't have been able to discern that fact had she not known already as their resemblance was uncanny. The way their eyes shone with mischief, the happy grins on both of their lips and the hair; his was much shorter, yet with how it licked at the tips, Regina would bet given the chance to grow, it would curl in the exact way that Emma's did.

After repeated swats that were useless against Emma's lips assaulting every inch of the boy's face, he gave up trying to stop her and his head slowly turned towards Regina who couldn't help the smile that remained as she regarded the affectionate display.

"You're the Evil Queen," he whispered and his voice was so full of wonder that her eyes widened. Children were generally terrified of her, so for this boy to speak with such awe, to even acknowledge her at all without a hint of fear or loathing was more than a simple surprise.

"Drew," Emma playfully scolded and poked him in the ribs. "Her name is Regina."

He giggled as his cheeks tinged pink and both women chuckled as he mumbled an apology and a soft, "Hi."

"Hello Andrew." Regina grinned as his eyes narrowed and his bottom lip jutted out, her own eyes full of mirth as she looked to the blonde and said, "You're right, that is adorably pathetic."

Emma nodded with a grin before she tapped him on the cheek so he would know she was talking to him when she asked, "Where's the family?"

"Mama and Papa are in the village, Lars is asleep and Jasper is making lunch."

Eyebrow raised, Regina enquired, "Mama and Papa?"

With a shrug, Emma carried her son over to the porch with Regina trailing beside her and she explained as she set him down, "It's what I've always called them, they're good people; I would have loved to have them as parents."

"Just what we need, more children," came a gravelly voice from behind them and Emma turned just in time to see the fireball hurtling towards the tree line.

"Ah crap, Regina." Emma vanished in a puff of smoke, a grunt of surprise following a moment later as she tackled the man to the ground. Rolling off of him, they watched as the fire passed through the air above them before her head fell to the side and the two lay there grinning at one another.

Which is how Regina and Andrew found them when they appeared.

"I apologise for that," Regina said, having been informed of her mistake by Andrew and both figures on the ground laughed as they noted the look of horror on her face.

"Quite alright," he replied as he stood and extended his hand for Emma who took it with a smile. "Should have known better than to startle the Queen."

"My husband tends not to think things through, Your Majesty." Regina blinked and looked up, she hadn't noticed the woman standing to the side and she took a step back as the woman stepped forward. "I'm Gigi, this is Misha."

"This is 'Gina!" Andrew chirped up and all but one of the adults chuckled at his excitement.

Regina amused, but curious, merely raised an eyebrow and questioned, "'Gina?" to which the boy only nodded before he dashed off back to the cottage at the sound of another calling them for lunch.

"Well, he clearly inherited Emma's manners," she deadpanned.

"And her stomach," Gigi patted Emma's cheek as she sauntered passed and beckoned them to follow. "Come along."

* * *

**Author Note: **Let's see if I can predict the questions you have for this.

**1) **Yes, the second scene _was _going to have smut but then I couldn't be bothered :P

**2) **If you're assuming Andrew means Henry doesn't exist, congratulations - You're right.

**3) **I had an idea for the family in mind, they're a fairytale - Guess which one and I'll include smut in the next chapter ;)


	9. Chapter 9

**Author Note: **RTT2 was the first to correctly guess the family being Goldilocks and the Three Bears and as such, I have kept my promise which I will assume excuses the delay in posting. Remind me to never ever promise that in future and enjoy the copious amount of nauseating fluff beforehand.

* * *

"Can we?" Wide blue eyes darted back and forth between them as Andrew bounced in place. "Can we, can we, can-"

"Yeah, that's not annoying," Emma interrupted as she saddled his horse, checking each strap was secure thrice over before she stepped back and patted the animal on the rump.

Regina chuckled softly as she watched the two of them interact. Emma had suggested they spend time with the boy, something about Regina needing to get used to his presence and excitable personality for when the time came that he chose to live with them in the palace.

While she wasn't entirely comfortable with the thought, due to past experiences involving children and horses, she was thankful the blonde's love of riding had been passed on to him because the only other idea Andrew came up with was hunting and Regina would rather throw herself into her own dungeon before she traipsed through the forest like a commoner scavenging for her food and, though she kept the thought to herself, it came to her a second time as he attempted to convince Emma that they should spend the night outdoors.

"We always go camping," he pouted.

When Emma caught her eye, she seemed to read Regina like an open book, concocting an excuse that would allow the Queen to return to her home where she could continue to sleep in luxury and not the cold, hard ground as a homeless peasant would. "Sorry little man, Regina has a kingdom to run and can't be away for long," she said but as his face fell, Regina felt a pang of sympathy and released an inaudible sigh.

"You could come to the palace," she suggested and both sets of eyes snapped to her with surprise as she went on, "Your mother is right, there are people who rely on me and I have already stayed longer than I should have. I would, however, not be averse were you to decide to return with us."

He glanced to his mother who nodded her head, leaving the choice to him and he chewed on his lower lip for a moment before he looked up at the brunette and asked, "Can I return here tomorrow?"

Regina frowned, not understanding why he would think he needed permission to do so and the confusion was clear in her voice as she replied, "Of course." She glanced to Emma with an eyebrow raised and her frown remained when all she received was the shake of a head.

"Come on, we're losing daylight." Emma helped the boy on to his horse as Regina mounted hers, a move that had the boy staring at her as though she were some sort of hero and she grinned when he blushed, averting his eyes even as her own cheeks heated at the brush of a hand against her thigh when Emma wandered passed.

Lifting herself into the saddle, Emma led them all from the stable and out into the forest before she moved to the side and allowed her son to pass in front. "No further than the stream," she said and Andrew nodded, continuing on as Emma and Regina followed at a slightly slower pace, both women watching him like a hawk despite the area being a well-protected one.

"He spent two years in that slave camp, says all he can remember about them is that they moved around a lot," Emma smiled sadly as she stared at her son's back. "I don't think he likes the idea of living somewhere else now that he's been in the same place for three years."

"Does this mean.." Regina paused, uncertain how to voice the question without allowing her frustration to seep into her tone. She wanted Emma to be with her, always, but she knew it wouldn't be possible if Andrew wanted to stay where he was.

"It'll take time," Emma reassured, already having guessed what the brunette wanted to ask. "I would prefer him in the palace with us but if he isn't comfortable staying more than a day or two at a time, then I won't force him."

"You would leave him here?"

Emma glanced at her from the corner of her eye and while she might have been affronted by the skepticism Regina wore at any other time, having learned more of her past, she knew it was likely out of instinct after a lifetime of being surrounded by liars and people who abandoned her at every opportunity.

"I've never lived here with him," she admitted. "I used to visit twice a month, spend a week with him; riding, camping, fishing – then I would return to chasing bounties, send what money I earned back to Gigi and Misha, keep enough for myself to survive."

It didn't sound all that appealing when she said it out loud, but Emma still preferred it to the alternative. "Unlike Drew, I've never wanted to settle down anywhere. He and I talk about it some times, says he wishes I was around more, says I feel like home."

She laughed then and it was usually a light sound, full of childish joy but this time it was broken and Regina had a sudden desire to hold her. Instead, given the desire was impossible while they rode separately, she settled for nudging her horse closer and placed a comforting hand on the blonde's thigh.

"I had no idea what he meant until I met you." Emma smiled, shaking the melancholy thoughts from her mind as she confessed, "It's why I was so afraid of giving in to you but if I've learned anything, it's that a person is far more than the stories that are told of them and I was stupid not to admit it until now but I-"

Regina grinned and her heart-felt as though it had swelled ten times its size as she gently squeezed Emma's leg, preventing her from completing her thought as she spoke, "Had you not known my feelings for you already, this would have been the moment and though I long to hear the words leave your lips, I know I would not be able to control myself when you say them."

Emma released a breathy laugh and Regina sighed at the happy sound before she teased, "Save your declarations for when we are alone, Princess, so that I may express my.. appreciation properly."

"Yes, my Queen," Emma murmured as she leaned to the side and reached for the clasp around Regina's throat, pulling the brunette in for a kiss. She backed away with a grin, urging her mount forward at a quicker pace and ignoring Regina's protest as she caught up to her son.

* * *

After spending the day at the stream, the three of them returned to the cottage and while Emma went with her son to pack something for his overnight stay, Regina beckoned Gigi over to where she stood waiting by the door and produced a pouch full of coins with a flick of her wrist.

"I realise due to my-" Regina paused on the word _abduction_, unaware of how much Emma had told these people of the details surrounding the blonde's residence within her Kingdom. She gave the woman a faint smile, then continued. "-own selfish desires, Emma has gone without work for quite some time and I understand she would compensate you for taking care of the boy while she was off chasing the realm's filth."

Gigi's eyes widened with understanding and she raised her hand as her head shook. "That isn't necessary, your Majesty. Misha and I often told Emma she needn't bother, we were more than happy to take Drew in and he is welcome here for as long as he likes."

Regina stepped forward and took the woman's hand, dropping the pouch into it. "While a noble and generous sentiment, I must insist. Emma would have continued sending you payment had I not prevented her from doing so," she said as she moved away again.

Hand heavy with the weight of coins, Gigi gave another shake of her head. "Just from holding it, I can tell that this is far too much, your Majesty; at least take some of it back."

Eyebrow raised in challenge, Regina smiled wider and reasoned, "Well I certainly don't intend to condone her gallivanting across the realm to subdue criminals for a few coins. Drew wishes to remain here longer, so think of it as an advance."

Knowing it was unwise to argue with the Queen, Gigi breathed a sigh of resignation and accepted with a, "Thank you," just as Emma and Drew reappeared, both of which gave the two of them a curious once over.

"You weren't tormenting the nice lady, were you?" Emma teased as she came to stand beside them and Regina's grin sent a pleasing shiver down the blonde's spine.

As Gigi backed away, Regina distracted Emma from taking notice of the pouch the woman was attempting to hide and smirked as she replied, "I can't help myself, waiting patiently is simply too boring."

At the sound of a drawer sliding closed, they both turned to the older woman who smiled as she walked back to them, embracing the blonde before she could ask any questions and murmured, "Try not to anger the Queen, you're a decent enough woman and far too young to be hanged."

She then turned to the boy and laughed softly at the look of excitement on his face. "And you, behave. I'm sure her Majesty wouldn't hesitate to show you her dungeon. Though if she did, I imagine your mother would convince her that it would do you good."

Emma nodded, her expression serious for all of five seconds before a grin broke across her face. "Seriously though, it's almost dinner time and I'm starving, we gotta get before Cook decides she has the day off."

"And I would hate to have to punish her for such an assumption," Regina added, amusement clear in her voice. "You don't know how difficult it was to find someone with her expertise."

"Mom can cook," Andrew said as he threw his arms around Gigi's waist and hugged her. "Bye mama."

She patted his head and smiled down at him and when he released her to take Emma's hand, Gigi glanced to the Queen. "Unless you enjoy charred fish, I wouldn't suggest asking her to cook for you."

"Hey!" Emma mock glared at the woman as Regina chuckled beside her. "I can cook more than that."

"Mhmm," Gigi hummed. "Off you go, we wouldn't want you starving to death. It was a pleasure meeting you, Your Majesty."

"I am surprised to find myself thinking the same." Regina tensed as she felt a small hand enter her own, though she managed to hide her discomfort as she went on, "Do give your husband and sons my best wishes upon their return."

The familiar purple of her magic manifested in the form of fog that swirled around their feet and she smiled at the whispered, "Awesome," from the boy beside her before all three vanished, the only evidence left behind of them being there were the purple wisps flecked with green that only Gigi was witness to.

"Interesting."

* * *

They had only arrived a few minutes prior to when Graham knocked on the door to one of the many guest chambers within the Palace, claiming that King James had awaited their return for quite some time and while the women were both shocked by the news and curious to the reason for his trip, neither were in the mood for the formalities and expectations of a royal visit.

"We will be dining in a few minutes, extend him an invitation and we can discuss what it is he wants while we eat," Regina said as she watched the blonde for a reaction. Aside from being the True Love of the idiot Snow White, she had no quarrel with the man and saw no adequate reason, besides Emma's annoyance, to deny him the audience he sought.

Emma knew that any protest she might have wouldn't prevent the Captain from complying with the order, so she waited until he had left before she asked, "What are you doing?"

"You said he didn't know what your mother was up to," Regina answered. "I assume the two may be connected and it would be foolish to send him away without knowing what he wants."

"Okay," Emma agreed. "But why couldn't you have made him wait until we were done?"

Regina's brow rose. "Were the fact it would be rude to do so not enough of a reason, there is also the fact that I'm curious and very impatient." She moved forward until she stood in front of Emma and raised her hand to grip the blonde's chin.

"If his reasons for being here are less innocent than I believe them to be, if he attempts to convince you to leave with him or he harms you in any way, I will-" she stopped suddenly as she remembered Andrew was still with them and, rather than continue with the threat of castration as she intended, she leaned in to claim the mouth that had started to quirk at the corners.

"I would risk a war for you," she murmured against soft lips. "And he will know that before this day ends." All Emma could do was nod as Regina seized her hand and reached for her son's, leading them from the room.

Something about the brunette being protective of her, knowing that any threat she made was never an idle one caused a rare phenomenon of leaving her speechless. It wasn't that she wanted to be the reason for a potential war, but the idea that she meant that much to someone that it was a possibility, there were no words to express how that made her feel.

"Shepherd." As Emma blinked away her thoughts at the sound of Regina's voice, she was met with the sight of the King without his Queen or any sort of protection and she frowned.

"Where are your men?" she asked, directing her son toward the table already lined with a feast more fit for a good-sized army than just four people. She assumed the lack of Snow meant James had come despite his wife's protests, or Snow wasn't aware that he had and either way, she had a difficult time convincing herself she should care.

Truth be told, until he had sided with the Queen about her marriage to Baelfire, Emma had been close with her father and despite their differences, his hero complex had a tendency of causing him to be reckless and showing up to a meeting with the Evil Queen without any guards by his side seemed entirely stupid.

"The Guard Captain, Graham I believe was his name, invited them to join his men in the Barracks." His eyes dropped to the child that seemed to be studying him before they rose once more and locked on to his daughter's as he asked, "Who's this?"

Emma pulled out a chair and nudged Andrew, suggesting he sit while she took the seat next to him as she replied, "My son."

His mouth dropped open for the briefest of moments before he quickly closed it and sat himself down, his eyes returning to the boy whose attention had drifted to the Dark Queen and seeing the seemingly innocent grin on her face, his gaze darted back to Emma. "You have a-" he started, then frowned as realisation dawned. "I have a grandson?"

"Not even technically," she dismissed the line of conversation as she picked up Andrew's plate and began adding food to it, her voice emotionless as she chose to feign ignorance to the confused and slightly hurt look that crossed his expression and went straight for the point. "Why are you here?"

Clearing his throat, James stood and poured both women some of the wine, pushing an abundance of questions about the boy to the back of his mind as he opted to respond to his daughter rather than risk upsetting her by pursuing his curiosity. "When you came to.. reprimand your mother-"

Regina snorted at his choice of words and he paused to glance at her with a faint smile before he continued, "You caused quite a commotion about the palace and Snow came to me the next day and admitted to what she had done, among other things."

Emma stared blankly as he hesitated, it had been too long since they had seen each other but if she were still the daughter he remembered from ten years ago, she had one hell of a temper and an extremely short fuse. "She told me that she made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin, that she promised your hand in marriage to his son in exchange for our youth."

The shame he felt showed as plain as day on his face but before Emma could respond, Regina slammed her goblet down on the table and snarled, "That vain, selfish little harlot! I will rip that pretty head of hers from her shoulders, then we shall see what good youth does her!"

A loud cough broke her tirade and she looked to the right where Emma sat with a look of bemusement as she gestured across the table to the ageing King and said, "Clearly the deal is considered broken."

She didn't know why she wasn't angry, only that she wasn't. Perhaps it was because she had always known that her happiness had never mattered to Snow White, maybe she was suffering from shock or there existed some other reason that would come to her later but at the present point in time, she saw no use in dwelling on something that had already happened, not when she now had everything she wanted.

Emma offered the obviously confused Queen a reassuring smile, then turned to the man she had once considered her father. "While I appreciate you coming all this way to tell me, I hope you don't think this changes anything. If you wish for forgiveness, then on this particular matter, there is nothing to forgive as it was not you who made the deal."

His eyes brightened a shade as she reached for her wine and she held up her hand when he went to speak, signalling that she wasn't finished while she took a drink before she placed it back down and continued, "However, I imagine you do seek forgiveness for agreeing to an arranged marriage against my wishes and that, is something you will never have."

* * *

Regina paced the floor of her bedroom. Even now, she couldn't understand what had happened and it appeared that she needed to be upset on Emma's behalf as well as her own because apparently the blonde had lost her damn mind.

One minute she was furious and ready to violently maim that worthless twit of a supposed Queen and in the next she sat staring, thoroughly confused as the love of her life brushed aside an awful truth as though it meant nothing and spent the better part of three hours conversing with a man who had the audacity to think that trading his only child, for what he thought was the safety of his Kingdom, was a good idea.

"You'll wear a hole in the floor," Emma said from the doorway.

Having sensed her distress all throughout dinner, Emma had taken the chance to analyze everything she could about Regina while she remained oblivious to her presence. Simply due to the fact that it had taken her speaking before she was noticed, was a glaringly obvious sign that the brunette was not in the greatest of moods and while Emma understood, she had been looking forward to a much more enjoyable evening in bed than the one currently presented to her.

Acknowledged with no more than a frown, Regina continued to pace and Emma sighed as she moved into the room. She closed the door behind her and made her way over to the bed where she sat, discarding her clothes as she waited. It wasn't until she laid back, hands resting on her bare stomach as she closed her eyes that Regina glanced over.

Her frustration dissipated as she came to a halt, soaking in the sight of her Princess entirely naked and on display for her very appreciative gaze. "What do you think you're doing?" Voice hoarse with sudden arousal, she had meant for the question to sound reproachful but the desire shone through and the words came out as barely more than a croak.

"Paying attention now, are you?"

Regina licked her lips as she stepped toward the blonde and replied, "I'm always paying attention to you."

Opening her eyes, Emma rose to her elbows and grinned when lust-filled eyes drifted down between breasts to her stomach, then to the apex of her thighs as she slowly spread them for the brunette. "Liar," she said, tone daring her to come closer.

And she did not disappoint.

Regina moved between her legs, wrist flicking without conscious thought, clothes vanishing as she dropped to her knees where Emma's scent overwhelmed her and she moaned as the warm flesh of thighs closed in around her, trapping her as Emma pushed forward. Before she could find the words to deny the accusation, a mouth descended to capture her lips in a searing kiss and she eagerly responded as fingers threaded through her hair.

Hands free, Regina pried the legs open and surged up from the ground, forcing Emma back as she climbed on to the bed, lips still locked in their heated embrace. Her groan vibrated through them as an arm draped across her back, legs wrapping around her waist and forcing them tight against one another as Emma's slick heat coated Regina's stomach.

"Regina," Emma moaned into her mouth.

Pulling back so that she could look into Emma's eyes, Regina feigned ignorance to what she wanted and rocked against her, a teasing smirk playing across her lips as she asked, "Yes, my love?"

Emerald eyes narrowed and a pale lip disappeared between teeth but her thought of being stubborn and denying Regina was instantly forgotten as lips found her neck and bathed the throbbing pulse with her tongue.

Throughout the day, her desire had been carefully, though sometimes unintentionally, stoked. From the teasing touches during their time at the stream, words whispered to one another when no one else was paying attention and then, of course, there was the brunette's anger that had served to arouse Emma beyond words.

"Please," she begged and the plea-turned-sob sent a jolt of heat straight to Regina's sex as she raised her head to stare, intrigued as the blonde seemed to vibrate with her need. Had she known the state Emma was in, she would have done this much sooner and even the arrival of Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't have been enough to tear her away before they were satisfied.

"Fuck me." Regina grabbed Emma by the knees, forcing her to release her hold and the purple flash within brown eyes drew Emma's gaze down, a whimper escaping her at the sight of the shaft protruding from between the Queen's legs.

"Is this what you want, Princess?" Regina asked, her hands sliding inward to caress the warm flesh of Emma's thighs.

Emma nodded, repeating her plea breathlessly and she shivered as thumbs stroked her folds, nails ghosting against her clit, coaxing another whimper from her as Regina trailed hands across her body. Palms glided over her mound, along her hips, pausing to trace stomach muscles with fingertips before reaching her chest and cupping her breasts.

With each caress and hitch of breath, every stroke of sensitive flesh and wanton moan, Regina's hips inched closer until, finally, she pushed the tip of her cock through soaked folds and sank inside the blonde, groaning as walls contracted and welcomed her into their depths.

Lowering her head, Regina seized Emma's lips as they parted, silencing the blonde as she slipped her tongue into the warm, waiting mouth and began moving her hips at a tortuously slow pace, the kind she knew Emma enjoyed even though she would soon make a demand for more.

Closing her eyes, Regina submerged herself in the harmony that surrounded them. The sounds Emma made as she writhed beneath her, the feeling of legs once again finding their way around her waist and the hands that wandered her sides, across her back and ascended her spine where nails dug into her shoulders.

Their tongues teased each other, a passionate spar where one would strike only to retreat and wait for pursuit, the action repeated endlessly while they rocked together. The excitement, the heat that burned between them increasing with each passing second, building them up to a blissful, shared release.

"Regina," Emma gasped her name as she broke for air, their rhythm changing as the brunette picked up the pace, thrusting faster and deeper, burying her head in the crook of Emma's neck as she sucked at every available inch of salted flesh.

Her clit throbbed, heavy and swollen, pulsing with each thrust of her hips and Regina fucked the blonde harder, feeling the approach of her orgasm and gritting her teeth in a valiant effort to delay the inevitable, wanting Emma to take her over the edge with her.

When Emma could no longer hold back, she surrendered with a sharp cry of pleasure, muscles fluttering around the shaft as her body went rigid and wetness surged from within, coating the cock in her essence and with one final thrust, Regina stilled as her own release overwhelmed her, teeth clamping down on Emma's shoulder as she rode the waves of pleasure.

They laid there for an imperceptible moment of time, relishing the feel of one another, minds satisfyingly empty while their bodies buzzed deliciously and after a few minutes more, Regina breathed a content sigh as arms wrapped around her frame, holding her tight against the blonde.

"I love you," Emma whispered, hand stroking the length of the Queen's back and she groaned as Regina began to move inside of her again. "Gods, again?"

Raising her head, Regina grinned before she purred, "I told you I wouldn't be able to control myself."


	10. Chapter 10

**Author Note: **A bit shorter than usual, but I am giving this to you lot on MY birthday so... deal with it :P

* * *

The Queen's head rolled to the side, her gaze drifting across the room to the doors that led out to the balcony overlooking her Kingdom. It was still dark, just as she suspected upon first waking. She and Emma had developed somewhat of a routine for the morning, waking at least two hours before sunrise and spending the time getting lost in one another.

It was not always about sex, though she would not deny it being her preference. Sometimes they would simply lay there and talk the time away, speaking of the smallest details from the previous day to the more in-depth conversations that revolved around their pasts or their ideas for the future. Even with all the heartache that came with the memories, Regina favoured the past because all she could see when she closed her eyes and thought of a life ten years from that moment were wedding bells and miniature versions of Emma running about her palace.

It did weird things to her stomach that she did not like.

She had not broached either the topic of marriage or children due to her own fears, although they had been among the thoughts at the forefront of her mind ever since that first day in the throne room. There was no way for her to know if Emma had been joking or if marriage was something she considered from time to time, at least not without simply asking her outright and while the temptation was there, Regina wasn't sure she really wanted to know.

She already had one marriage behind her.

They acknowledged one another as being each other's True Love and her subjects, even the Nobles, seemed to accept the former Princess as her partner; sometimes referring to her as the Queen's Consort despite Emma's attempt to stop them from doing so.

Was there any reason to make it official in that regard? Would Emma even want to?

Such questions inevitably led her mind towards the two people down the hall from them; the boy Emma had claimed as her own and the man who had been too much of a weakling to protect his daughter from the machinations of her despicable mother.

Were the tale of Emma's life not so dreadfully painful, Regina would find it almost humorous how similar their pasts were and how their families mirrored one another. There was the controlling, manipulative woman for a mother, a father whose heart was, more often than not, in the right place but without a will of his own – or at least one with the strength to resist his domineering wife.

She wondered how two sets of people with similar parenting techniques could raise children who were, for all intents and purposes, entirely different. Emma was by no means good as people claimed Snow White to be and despite popular belief, Regina certainly was not the Evil that her mother was but their own similarities ended there.

From the moment she met Rumpelstiltskin, Regina claimed power and used it to protect herself as she searched tirelessly for a love she thought lost forever. While Emma discarded what power she had and ran from the only love she had ever known, resigned to spending the rest of her life avoiding those who took it upon themselves to deprive her of what little choice she possessed.

"Where are you?"

Regina smiled as she felt a caress along her inner thigh and she turned to her side, clamping the hand between her legs as she reached out a hand of her own and tangled her fingers within Emma's untamed curls as she replied, "Everywhere."

There was an unspoken agreement between them, one that guaranteed what would happen next should either of them lack the control over their thoughts that was required for worthwhile conversation and as Emma leaned in, Regina hummed and welcomed the press of lips that had yet to fail in leaving her mind gloriously blank.

"Morning," Emma murmured against her mouth, delaying a response as she reclaimed Regina's lips, her hand stroking the length of a back that shivered at her touch, down passed furs draped haphazardly across their bodies to palm her Queen's naked backside while the one still trapped shifted up towards heated folds.

When they parted, Regina grinned lazily and grabbed Emma's wrist, holding the hand against her sex as she rolled them. "And such a nice morning it is," she said, watching from beneath hooded lids as Emma's lustful gaze soaked in the sight of her body.

"See something you like?" She purred, only to frown as the question received the shake of a head. "No?" The doubt in her voice caused Emma to chuckle but before she could find offence, a thumb slipped between her folds to press against her clit and stole the angered words from mouth and mind.

"Not something I like," Emma answered, circling the hardened nub as her other hand skimmed Regina's spine to clasp her neck, pulling the brunette down and brushing their lips together as she finished, "But _someone _I _love."_

Regina groaned as if pained and rolled her eyes, her nails leaving indents in pale flesh as they dug into Emma's chest. "One of these days, I'm going to end up murdering you before you can correct your idiocy with that nauseating babble of yours," she growled and fused their mouths together, Emma's laughter vibrating within her chest and causing Regina to smile into the kiss as an arm encircled her waist.

* * *

"Drew, perhaps we should wait until they're ready to come out on their own." James followed the boy down the hall, attempting to divert his attention from barging in on his mother while she was with the Queen because as much as he wanted to believe his child was important to her, that she truly did love Emma, there was a lot of animosity there. Too much of a past to disappear in a single night, which meant he had his doubts that Regina would be happy to be disturbed in her chamber.

"But I'm hungry and the cook says she won't start breakfast until she's been given permission." Andrew kept walking as he spoke, a slight whine to his voice; not that James blamed him as the first thing he had heard that morning was the rumble of the boy's stomach.

"Perhaps Graham could find something for you," he suggested, hurrying his pace so that he walked beside him. "I'm not sure the Queen would appreciate anyone entering her room unannounced and if something were to happen-"

Andrew stopped suddenly, causing the King a moment of confusion before he too stopped and turned to the boy who now stood behind him, the disapproving frown he was met with causing his eyebrow to raise in question. "Mom said she's not like people say."

"Your mother believes they are in love." James smiled and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder as he tried to explain, "Love causes us to see, to believe things that sometimes aren't true or even real. The Queen hasn't been... a good person, in a very long while and though it would be nice if change were as easy as your mother seems to think, that simply isn't the case."

"Mom's never wrong about people," he insists and it would have been obvious to anyone wandering by that the boy was upset. "Mom said expecting the worst from someone only makes it harder for them to be who they want to be."

"Drew-"

The boy shook his head and shrugged off the hand as he started walking again. "Mom trusts her and I know she likes me, she's not going to hurt me just because I want food." There was a brief pause before he added, "It's okay if you don't want to come."

James stared after him for a moment, and then sighed before he jogged to catch up. He should have known better than to think he could change his mind, he was the son of his own daughter, after all. "I hope you're right, kid."

Andrew grinned, nodding as he replied, "I am."

A few minutes later and it were apparent that he was, in fact, right.

As soon as he knocked, the doors to the outer chamber swung open to reveal none other than the Queen herself who, despite noticing James, continued to smile as she ushered them inside. "Emma just went to fetch breakfast," she said and before either of them could respond, she turned to the mirror and called for the genie who appeared within seconds above the mantel.

"You bellowed?"

"Inform Emma that Drew and her f-" She caught herself in time, cleared her throat and ignored the stare she could feel on her as she corrected, "Charming have arrived; so she can skip the detour on her way back."

He inclined his head as he replied, "Yes, my Queen," and vanished.

She spun back to face them and took Andrew by the shoulder as she led him towards the settee by the fire, gesturing towards the one opposite them as they both took a seat and she noticed the outright suspicion James was directing her way.

"You spent the night and survived; If I wanted to injure you more than I usually do, I would have done so when you were asleep," she stated and whether it had been her words or the serious tone in which she uttered them, he seemed to relax as he moved to where her finger still pointed and sat down.

His expression became more curious the longer his attention remained on her that she eventually gave up trying to avoid any sort of interaction with him and sighed, glaring as she snapped, "Spit it out, Charming." She inhaled sharply a moment later as a hand patted her knee and her eyes darted to the boy beside her, confusion overcoming annoyance when he smiled and she felt herself slowly mirroring the expression.

"He can't understand you." Brows slanted with a frown and she opened her mouth but Andrew continued to smile as he shook his head before answering the question she had yet to ask. "He's like everyone else, but he's trying to see you."

The realisation of what he meant dawned on her within seconds and she looked to James once more, her own suspicions coming to the surface. Until Emma, no one had been interested in who she was behind the masks, the stories. She was the Evil Queen, a woman with an unmatched hunger for power, a desire for control that even the Dark One had become wary of. There was more to her, of course but that was all anyone ever focused on, it had always been enough to deter them from looking for anything more and she wasn't sure she _wanted _anyone besides Emma and, perhaps, Andrew to learn the whole truth to the person she was.

It was that uncertainty that provided her next words. "I am very much the person you think I am, Shepherd and it would do you well to remember that should you decide to meddle where you are not welcome."

Anger came and multiplied when his response was that of a smile but she tampered the urge to set him alight as he spoke. "I spent ten years regretting the part I played that forced her to run from us, wondering if I would ever see her again, hoping she was happy wherever she was and that someone was treating her better than Snow and I had."

The smile dropped and his face clouded; a look Regina knew all too well as she had had the same reaction upon learning certain things about Emma. "I doubt what she told me last night covered more than the first two years but I know now that reality was far worse than I had feared." With a glance toward Andrew, he shook his head and finished, "I have no intention of 'meddling' as you say. The only thing I want is for her to be happy and if that means being with you, then I accept that and I will make every effort to ensure nothing interferes."

Despite the irritation she felt niggling in the back of her mind, she sensed the truth in his words and sighed as she turned away from him, fixing her attention to the boy whose smile remained as his gaze wandered between them. After barely a day, she found herself growing quite fond of him – an unusual predicament for the Evil Queen and one she had shared with Emma before the woman swatted her hands away and abandoned her in search of sustenance. She smiled at the memory, drawing both sets of eyes and she breathed another sigh, this one relieved in nature as the doors swung open to permit the blonde and Captain who carried far too much food for the four of them.

"Were you planning on inviting half the realm to breakfast, dear?"

Emma grinned as she placed the dishes down and inclined her head towards Andrew who appeared on the verge of leaping across the room to devour everything in sight. "This is one of those, you have to see it to believe it deals but trust me, not a single scrap will go to waste when he's around."

* * *

Charming departed for the White Kingdom not too long after breakfast, which had been entertaining for them all when Emma's words were proven true, Andrew's continued belching a testament to just how well he could shovel food into his mouth. Regina had worried he would choke at some point but as the morning wore on, she found herself more amused than disturbed by the display.

That was, of course, another oddity considering etiquette had always been important to her and the only way his eating habits could be thought of as polite would require him eating from a trough. Still, her annoyance had remained at a minimum and what little existed was due to Emma's subtle but constant teasing throughout the entire meal, and the highly unwelcome audience that prevented Regina from teaching the woman a valuable lesson about taunting a Queen with something she very much wanted.

"Giiinaaa!"

Regina blinked as the whine invaded her thoughts, returning her to the moment and she stared down at the boy with her eyebrow raised. Before she could question him, however, she felt a body meld to her back as Emma came up behind her, arms finding their way around her waist and a smile coming to her with little effort as lips pressed a kiss behind her ear.

"I don't think she heard you, kid," Emma said, resting her head on a shoulder as she looked over Regina to her son. "Probably retreated into her mind when she realised how much of a pig you are."

Andrew grinned up at them when Regina chuckled. "As disgusting as the sight was to behold, I must admit I was impressed that he managed a whole three servings without pause." She leaned back against Emma, their hands entwining over her stomach, both smiling as she said, "The adage, _like mother, like son_ seems rather apt in this case."

"Nah," Emma denied, drawing the word out much like Andrew had with the nickname as she pulled away, one hand still clasped within Regina's as she came to stand beside her and added with a wink, "He's less messy than I am."


End file.
